Dog Days
by Lucinders
Summary: AU: Cristina Yang is a dedicated and driven corporate professional. She had little time for pets, dating or anything else. One day, her life changes when a lost pup shows up on her doorstep. Will he and the pup's vet make a difference in her life?
1. Chapter 1 A Girl and Her Dog

Cristina Yang loved the weekends.

She worked such long hours during the week that when the weekend came, she would cherish every minute of it. She loved doing absolutely nothing on those two days.

At her corporate job, she was so intensely busy during the day. She worked from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. every weekday. She loved her job and that was why she spent so many hours at work. She was usually up at 5 a.m. and on the road by 5.30 a.m. and in her office by 6 a.m. She would usually pick up her breakfast on the way to work and have it at desk. She liked getting in early and starting her work way before any of her colleagues made it in. Her drive and dedication had certainly not gone unnoticed by her bosses and she had been singled out as one to watch. At 27, she had already made a name for herself at Stelridge Inc.

During the week, she was a corporate animal. But this was definitely not the case on the weekends. On Saturday morning, she never got up earlier than noon. She had to make up for all of those early mornings during the week.

* * *

This particular morning or rather, this particular noontime, started like any other. Cristina dragged herself out of the bed to use the bathroom and brush her teeth. Then, she headed to the kitchen to get something to eat. She made herself a cup of tea and then looked in her refrigerator to see what was edible in there. She groaned. It was full of leftovers from the entire week of takeout food she had bought for her dinner. The one from Monday had probably gone bad, she figured. After all, it was the oldest food in the fridge. She started smelling each carton to figure out if they needed to be thrown in the trash. As she cleaned out her refrigerator, she kept hearing a persistent scratching on her kitchen door.

She hoped that it was not a raccoon. She had heard that raccoons carried rabies and the last thing she needed was a rabid raccoon on her doorstep. She opened the broom closet and took out the biggest broom. She was prepared to swat this raccoon away from her townhouse. She slowly opened the back door, looked around and then looked down.

It wasn't a raccoon. It was a small pup - a white French bulldog pup. "Hey there," Cristina said. "What are you doing here? Where is your owner?"

The pup, who looked to be about six months old, stared up mournfully at her.

"Are you lost?" Cristina asked. She took a final look around before she reluctantly allowed the small dog to enter her house. She didn't want a small animal in her townhouse but it seemed like she had no choice. She didn't have the time or the patience to deal with a pup. But she couldn't very well turn him away. He seemed to be in desperate need. She picked him up and took a good look at his face. She couldn't deny he was very cute with his large dark brown eyes. It was like he was looking straight into her soul.

He had a black collar on but it was broken. If he was wearing a collar, that meant he definitely belonged to someone. But he had no tags. "Why did your owners make it so difficult for me? No tags," she said. She placed him back on the floor. "Are you hungry?" she asked him.

She opened back the refrigerator. "Well, I was in the middle of cleaning this out. Let's see what we can find for you. How does chicken sound? I had Chinese take-out, last night. I still have noodles and some stir-fry vegetables. I mean it is not the best thing for a dog but it is all I have right now." She found a paper-plate, put the food on it and placed it on the ground.

The tubby puppy sniffed at it at first. "I know it is not what you are probably used to but I am pretty sure it tastes better than those cardboard pebbles that you eat." The pup tentatively took a bite. "There you go," Cristina said. "Just a little more."

After one taste, the puppy started wolfing down the rest of the food. "Ah, you're very hungry. Now that you have eaten what I had planned to eat, I better find something else in the fridge." She took out the pizza that was Thursday's dinner and started chewing on it. She watched the pup eat. He had surprised her with his healthy appetite. He looked up gratefully at her when he finished.

She took out a small plastic bowl, filled it water and gave it to him to drink. He finished off his water. "Thirsty, too, I see." He looked up at her, adoringly.

"Oh, please don't give me that look," she said. "I cannot take care of you. I am going to take your picture and put up posters and someone will come for you." The pup decided to take a better look at his new surroundings. As he walked around, sniffing everything, she noticed that he was limping and favoring one of his back legs.

"Are you hurt? Your back leg seems to be injured," she said. "Oh dear, now it seems that I have to take you to the vet." She didn't know any vets. She never had the need to know any vets. Who could she call? Then she remembered the cat lady from work – Kathleen from the IT department. Kathleen had two Siamese cats that she had named Thelma and Louise. Kathleen was always going on about her cats' vet – how handsome he was, how gentle he was, how he gave Thelma and Louise excellent care. Well, she figured, if he was good enough for Thelma and Louise, he should be good enough for this pup. She scrolled through her contacts on her phone.

"Ah, here we are," Cristina said, pressing the call button. Kathleen answered, almost immediately. She recognized Cristina's number. Why would Cristina be calling her on a weekend, unless she had some sort of computer problem? Cristina Yang was small but she could be a tyrant in the workplace.

"Miss Yang," Kathleen answered. "How may I help you?" She had gone into full professional mode.

"Good afternoon, Kathleen. I need your help but it is nothing computer-related," Cristina said. Somehow, that made Kathleen a little more anxious.

"Uh, what is it?" Kathleen asked. Why would Cristina Yang be calling her if it was not tech-related? She and Cristina were not friends.

"It's about your vet. The one you use for Thelma and Louise. You said he gave excellent care. I was wondering if you can give me his name and address, please," Cristina said. "I may have a patient for him."

"Oh, you mean Dr. Hunt," Kathleen said, relieved. "Hold on. Let me get his card off my refrigerator." Cristina waited the few seconds for Kathleen to return. "Okay, his full name is Owen Hunt and his clinic is located at 222 Forester Avenue. On Saturdays, his hours are from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Yes, he takes walk-ins, but you would have to wait for clients with appointments to be seen first."

"Thank you so much, Kathleen," Cristina said. "That's fine. I know the area. I will see you on Monday. Have a good weekend."

"You, too, Miss Yang," Kathleen said, before she hung up. Cristina stared at the pup, who stared right back at her. Her whole weekend of doing nothing was disappearing right before her eyes.

"Uh, okay, since we don't know how long you will be gracing my premises, I guess we should get you a few things to make you a little more comfortable. So what we will do is go to the pet store and pick up some essentials for you - dog food, a proper bowl, a bed, a new collar, some toys. How does that sound?" she said. The pup stared even more intently at her. "Well, I am going to take that stare as a yes. After the pet store, we will go to this vet, Dr. Hunt, and let him see about that back leg. Does that sound like a plan or what? If you would just excuse me, I am going to get a shower, change my clothes and I will be right back."

Cristina returned and found the pup sitting in the same spot. "You do listen," she told him. "So shall we?" She picked him up and tucked him under her arm. They drove to the nearest PetSmart and together, they went through the aisles. As she went through each item that she had planned to buy for the pup, she found herself reading and comparing all of the labels, painstakingly making sure to choose the best one for her animal. By the time she was through, two hours had passed. She checked her watch. It was already 4.30 p.m. "Oh, good grief, I have to get you to the doctor to have your leg checked."

She packed everything in her car and headed to the vet's clinic. It was a lovely clinic, painted in yellow. The name of the clinic was called Paws, Claws, Feathers and Fur Animal Clinic. She knew it was the right one because there was a small sign near the door which said "Owen Hunt, DVM." She picked up the pup and tucked him under her arm and stepped into the clinic. There were quite a few people waiting there, most of them had dogs or cats. She groaned. That meant that she would have to wait a while. She stepped up to the desk.

"Hello, my name is Cristina Yang and I brought this dog to see the vet, please," she said. The receptionist looked at her. "Has the dog been here before?" the receptionist peered at her, over her glasses. Cristina shook her head.

"Well, okay, then, fill out these forms," the receptionist said, handing her a form on a clipboard. "Please try to fill it out as accurately as you can."

Cristina sat down and started to fill out the form. The section of the form for the Owner was easy since it was about her. She really wasn't the Owner but she was the Human bringing the dog in.

As for the dog section of the form, she stopped at the very first line, "Name." She didn't have a clue what this dog was named. "What about Rover?" she asked. The pup looked doubtful. "What about Fluffy? No, no, that sounds like a cat. Oh, I got it. Taz. Sounds cute and cool." She wrote down "TAZ." Under Age, she had no idea. She just wrote "Pup." At least she knew the breed of the dog, "French bulldog." She knew nothing about vaccinations, previous illnesses or surgeries. She left that blank. Cristina handed back the clipboard to the receptionist, who gave her a steely look, when she noticed how many blank spaces were left on the form.

"He's not my dog," Cristina protested. She felt the receptionist was judging her, harshly. "And I made up a name for him, too."

"Okay, you do realize that you will have to wait, until Dr. Hunt sees all of the other clients," the receptionist said. Cristina nodded glumly. She and Taz returned to their seats. She glanced at the magazines and picked up a copy of Dog Fancy to read. She sighed every time another client's name was called. An hour or so later, she and Taz were the only ones left in the waiting room.

"Taz Yang," the receptionist called out. Good grief, Cristina thought, it wasn't even her dog and now he carried her last name. She gave the receptionist a tight smile, as she and Taz made their way to the doctor's examination room.

She placed Taz on the exam room table. Taz whimpered, miserably. "So you've been to the vet before, haven't you, boy?"

"Good evening," a deep voice boomed behind her. She turned around, swiftly. She gasped a little but not loud enough to be audible. The strawberry-blonde vet, who was smiling at her, was tall and handsome. Kathleen, owner of Thelma and Louise, was right.

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**A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. This is a brand new story so feedback would be greatly appreciated on whether I should continue this. Thanks.**


	2. Chapter 2 The Vet

"So what do we have here?" Dr. Hunt said, coming forward. He looked at the form that Cristina had filled out. "Taz is his name, I see. You haven't filled out everything on the form, Miss Yang."

"Um, that's because he is not my dog and I don't know anything of his history. He is a lost dog and showed up on my doorstep, earlier today," Cristina explained. "I saw that he was favoring his back right leg so I thought I would bring him in to have it checked. I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't broken."

"Ah, okay, so where did you get this name Taz?" Dr. Hunt asked, as he started feeling Taz's leg.

"I just made that up in the waiting room," Cristina said. "Your receptionist would have been real mad if I didn't write a name for him." The vet laughed.

"Ah, Eunice, my receptionist, treats the animals better than people," he said. "She is very vocal on animal rights. Okay, the good news is that the leg is not broken. He just has a sprain. However, what that means is that he needs to keep off it and therefore, has to be confined to a limited space. Not much moving around until that leg heals. You can use an ice pack on it to reduce the swelling. Also, I am going to give you some painkillers for him. I am sure that it is probably hurting the little fella. He is still only a pup. Judging from his size, he is about six months old."

"Okay," Cristina nodded, admiring the man's profile. It was such a strong, manly profile, she thought.

"So since this is not your dog, what are you going to do about him?" Dr. Hunt asked.

"Well, since he had no tags, I wasn't quite sure where to start. So I thought I would take his picture and put up flyers around my neighborhood. He is such a little guy; he couldn't have gone far from where he lived, especially with an injured leg," she said. "Hopefully, someone will call me and claim him."

"Maybe he has an embedded microchip. Let's check if he has one. The microchip has a number and we can check it on a database to find out his owner's name and contact information," Dr. Hunt said. But it proved to be a futile exercise, since Taz did not have a microchip.

"Well, I guess we have to go the low-tech way to find his owner," Cristina said.

"What if you can't find his owner, what are you going to do?" Dr. Hunt asked. He lifted Taz and looked at him in his face. "I would hate to see him end up in a shelter."

"I would try and find a good home for him," Cristina said. "With my job, I work very long hours and I don't have the time to take care of a dog."

"Okay, that's good," Dr. Hunt said. "However, if you decide to keep him, I would suggest that you set him up on a vaccination program. Since we have no history for him, we would have to make sure that he gets vaccinated."

"Yeah, okay," Cristina said. "But I don't think that would be necessary. Hopefully, his owner comes for him or if not, his new owner will take care of it."

"Alright," Dr. Hunt said. "So, what we will do is set up a tentative appointment for Taz for next Saturday at around 5.45 p.m. I say tentative because I am not sure if his owner will turn up. If he or she turns up, you can call and cancel the appointment but if you still have him, I would like to check that leg, again to make sure that it has healed properly and he isn't having any pains."

"Sure," Cristina said. "Thank you for all of your help." With Taz's painkillers in one hand, she picked up the dog and carried him out to the waiting room area, where she made an appointment for next Saturday and paid for their visit.

She went out to the parking lot and placed Taz in the new carrying case that she had bought earlier that day at PetSmart. "Okay, let's go home, boy," she said. She got into her car and turned the key but nothing happened. She tried it, again and got the same result. Her car did not want to start. She popped the hood and stared at the engine. Not that it mattered, she didn't have a clue on what was going on in there.

She wondered if she should call a cab. After all, she had so much stuff in the car to take home. It was late and she probably would not get a mechanic to check her car, especially in this fading light.

"Are you having car trouble?" she heard Dr. Hunt's voice say. He and Eunice had locked up the clinic and were leaving for the night. Eunice had already driven off and it was only Cristina and Dr. Hunt in the parking lot.

"Yes, it seems so," Cristina said. "Can I leave this car here and I will get my mechanic to come check it, tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah, sure," Dr. Hunt said. "That's no problem. How are you going to get home?"

"I guess I will call a cab. I have a whole bunch of stuff to carry home, too. Things I got from PetSmart for Taz," she said.

"Let me take you and Taz home," the vet said. "It will be no trouble."

"Really?" Cristina replied. "Thank you very much. I would be forever grateful."

"Just let me get my SUV and we can transfer all of the stuff into it and then I will drive you home," he said. "Just hang on for a couple of minutes." He disappeared at the back of the building and to her surprise, he re-appeared on the street in front of the clinic. She wondered how he did that because he had not passed in front of her with his vehicle.

They got busy, transferring everything from her vehicle to his. "That is quite a lot of stuff you bought for a dog that you are not going to keep," Dr. Hunt said, as he carried across the doggie bed.

"Well, I wasn't sure how long he was going to stay with me, so I decided that he might as well be comfortable," she said, as she carried across the brand new stainless steel dog bowls and the various toys. "I guess that's it." The bag of dog food was the last thing to be placed in the SUV, which Dr. Hunt stowed in the back of his SUV. Cristina placed Taz and his carrying case on the back seat, while she climbed in on the front passenger seat.

"I live at 478 Regents Avenue," she said. "Do you know where that is?"

"The townhouse complex?" he asked. She nodded. "Have you been there before?" she queried.

"Yes, I have," Dr. Hunt said. "I dated a woman, who lived there, at one time. We're not dating, anymore." Cristina wondered why he would share that information. She didn't really ask him anything about his private life. Mentally, she ran through all of the single women living in her townhouse complex, wondering which of them it was.

They drove in relative silence, when Dr. Hunt stopped in front of a Thai restaurant. "I am just going to pick up dinner here. Do you want anything?" he asked.

She thought about it and said, "Yes, some shrimp pad Thai would be great."

"Okay, stay here and I will be right out," he said. Cristina watched as he entered the restaurant. Taz whimpered from the back seat.

"Taz, we are going to be home in just a little bit. So hold on. We're just picking up a little bit of food for me. When we get home, I will give you some of that dog food I bought this morning," she said. "On a different subject, what do you think about Dr. Hunt?"

Taz yelped in reply. "Yeah, I think so, too. He is a hunk, isn't he? No wonder Kathleen keeps raving about him," she continued. "I mean he would be kinda nice to date, if I did date. You know with my job, Taz, I don't have time to date. On weekends, all I want to do is vegetate. It's so hard to even put on a dress and make-up to go out.

"Not that he would be interested in me. I look like a proper frump right now in my sweatpants and old t-shirt." She pulled down the sun visor to look at herself in the mirror. "Oh, my God, I look horrible. My hair doesn't even look like if I brushed it. You could have told me something before we left the house, Taz." The puppy yelped, again. "Oh, he is coming back." She tried to smooth out her unruly curls but it really was to no avail.

Dr. Hunt got back into the car and handed her a bag. "Here is your shrimp pad Thai."

"How much do I owe you?" she asked.

"Don't worry, it's my treat," he said. She nodded and said, "Thanks."

They finally got to her townhouse compound. "I am Townhouse 26. It is the one on that end." He pulled up in front of her townhouse and started helping her carry all her dog-related paraphernalia into the house. He even helped her set up Taz's bed and feeding bowls.

"Thank you so much for everything," Cristina said. "I hope I didn't put you too much out of your way."

"Well, actually, I am headed back to the clinic," he said.

"You live at the clinic?" she said, surprised. She hadn't seen any evidence that there were living quarters at the clinic.

"No, no," he laughed. "I live in a property behind the clinic that faces Greenvale Avenue. That's my house. I just pass through a gate behind the clinic to get to my house."

"Oh, that is a commute to die for. You get up, have your breakfast, walk to the back of your house and through the gate and you're already at your place of work. You are so darn lucky. No traffic and no irate drivers to face on the morning commute," she said. "Oh, now I understand how you got your vehicle. You passed through the gate to get to your house and then got your vehicle and that's how you got to the front of the clinic to pick me up. I was wondering how you pulled off that trick."

He laughed. "Well, good night, Miss Yang. Oh, by the way, I am somewhat of an amateur mechanic. My dad taught me when I was a kid. So I will take a look at your car and give you a call. If it is beyond my capability, I will get a mechanic to take a look at it."

"Thank you, Dr. Hunt. You are too good to me," she said. She handed him her car keys so he would be able to check her car, the next day. She walked him to her front door and they said good night to each other. She closed the door and sighed. "Him and me would be a lost cause, Taz, wouldn't it? I am an idiot to think that he would be interested in me. Besides, I don't even date. Yeah, you're right. Such a good listener, you are. Are you hungry?" she asked the dog. She opened the new bag of dog food and placed some of the pebbles in his new food bowl. He hungrily ate his food. She filled his water bowl and he drank, thirstily. She also gave him a little bit of medicine for his pain.

She opened the back door and he instantly knew that was the signal for him to do his toilet. She was totally grateful that he already knew what that meant. She picked up his poop and put it in a Ziploc bag and made the trek to the doggie poop disposal unit on the compound. She had never had need to use it before but now saw the value of it.

It had been a very tiring day and Cristina decided to turn in early. After she had eaten her shrimp pad Thai, she put Taz in his bed and got ready to turn in. She had almost fallen asleep when she heard a scratching on the door. She groaned, "What's the matter, Taz?" She got up and opened the door. Taz limped inside her bedroom. He clearly wanted to spend the night in there.

"Okay, just because you are injured, I am going to allow this. This is not going to become a habit." She went to the laundry room, picked up his dog bed and placed it in a corner of her bedroom. Taz went in and settled down, comfortably. "So I guess now I can get some sleep."

She climbed back underneath her covers. "So Taz, that Dr. Hunt sure is something. He's good-looking, kind, generous and great with animals."

All she heard in reply was a gentle snore coming from the pup. "Oh, okay, good night, Taz." She hugged a pillow and fell asleep, with her last thoughts being about Dr. Hunt.

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**A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate when you leave your reviews. Thank you for your wonderful reviews on the first chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3 A Visit from Dr Hunt

Cristina stirred when she heard the sharp barking. Why was a dog barking in her head? Then, she opened her eyes. She remembered. She had a dog and he was in her bedroom. She turned to watch the pup in his bed. He whimpered and yelped.

"Taz, do you know what time it is? It is 6 a.m. I never get up at 6 a.m. on a Sunday morning. I guess you need to relieve yourself," she said, slipping out from under the covers. She picked up the pup and walked through her townhouse, with her eyes barely open. She opened the door and set him down on the ground. She gave him some privacy as she went to the kitchen to get a Ziploc bag. By the time, she got up back, he was through. She picked up his waste, sealed the Ziploc bag and wearily walked to the disposal unit on the compound. "Again, I say, what a wonderful disposal unit you are," she said. She got back to her townhouse where Taz was still waiting on the lawn.

"Come on, let's get back inside," she said. The two of them went back into the house. "I guess you are hungry, now," she said. The puppy barked to show that was certainly true. She went to the kitchen and poured out some dog food for him. He hungrily ate it all up.

"It's good that you have such a good appetite," she said, as she refilled his water bowl. She made herself a grilled cheese sandwich and a cup of tea. After her breakfast, she found her camera and took a couple of pictures of Taz, which she uploaded on to her computer.

"Let's get this flyer of you done, so we can stick them up and your owner can come for you," she said. "Won't that be great? You will be able to go home. Don't you want that?" The pup seemed unsure.

"What should I say?" she said to herself. She started typing. "FOUND DOG. White French bulldog. Male. Wore a black collar. No tags. Contact 555-2424." Above that, she pasted Taz's most appealing picture. She printed 20 flyers – five for the bulletin boards in the townhouse complex and 15 for the street, Regents Avenue, in which she lived. She didn't think she would have to go further than that. He was such a little guy and he was injured, so there was no way that he could have wandered that far away from his home.

She stretched, leisurely. She needed to take a brisk shower to wake her up completely and then, she would get cracking on putting up the flyers. After her shower, she dragged on an old t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants. This was actually her weekend outfit. After being in a suit all week, it was a relief to wear something that was not constricting. She combed her damp hair and put it in a ponytail. She put on her most comfy pair of flip flops. She stared at herself in the mirror at the finished product. "You certainly look like a slob, today. But who cares? No one important is going to see me, today."

She wondered when Dr. Hunt would call about the status of her car. She would need it for the commute to work, tomorrow. Anyway, he seemed reliable enough and she was certain that he would call. She picked up her stack of flyers and was headed to the front door, when the doorbell rang.

"Who the heck could it be at this hour?" she said. She opened the door and came face to face with the handsome Dr. Hunt. Her calm exterior did not betray her true thoughts on seeing him there. "Just great" was her first sarcastic thought. "Why didn't he call first so he wouldn't see him me in my awful weekend attire? Why must he always see me at my worst? At least, give me some warning, so I could look halfway decent?" she thought. She self-consciously touched her hair. At least, it was in a ponytail and not flying all over the place, like the day before.

"Good morning, Dr. Hunt. Seeing that you are here, I think that you have good news about my car," she said, with a smile. "Do you want come in?" She allowed him to pass, before she closed the door.

"Good morning, Miss Yang. And yes, I do have good news about your car. I checked it this morning and it was just the spark plugs. I changed them out and the car is working, again. It's what I drove to get here this morning. It is parked out front," Dr. Hunt told her.

"Thank you," she said. "You are indeed a life-saver. How much do I owe you for the spark plugs?" He handed her the receipt and she dug into her purse for the cash to pay him. "What about labor?"

"Aw, that is free," he said, grinning. "So what are you up to, this morning?"

"Oh, I was just going to put up these flyers for Taz so his owner could see that I have him and come for him," she said, handing him a flyer.

"He looks very handsome in this photo," Owen said, admiring her handiwork.

"Yes, he does, who couldn't love that face?" she said. "Those ears, that expression. He is just so lovely. He almost makes me want to have a dog but I know I can't."

"If you wish, I could help you put up the flyers," he said. "I have some time to spare. I really want to help the little guy find his home."

"You do? That would be wonderful. One of us could hold the flyers, while the other sticks it up with the tape. I also have thumbtacks for the bulletin boards in the complex, while we can tape the rest to the lamp posts on the street," she said. "Let's go."

Together, they walked through the complex, putting up Taz's flyers. They had just finished putting up a flyer on the last bulletin board in the complex, when a tall redhead in a blue designer jogging suit passed. She stopped when she saw the vet.

"Owen!" she said. Dr. Hunt looked around. So did Cristina. The redheaded woman looked vaguely familiar to Cristina. She didn't know her name but she was pretty sure the woman was from Townhouse 11. Cristina suddenly felt woefully inadequate when she saw the woman in her designer jogging suit. She became acutely aware of her sweatpants and old t-shirt.

"Veronica," Dr. Hunt said. "How are you?" Veronica stopped and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Doing fine," Veronica said. "Haven't seen you in these parts since you know…." Her voice trailed away.

"Yes, yes," Dr. Hunt said. "Well, I am just helping your neighbor, Miss Yang, put up flyers for a dog she found. He is one of my patients." Cristina felt suddenly like an intruder in the conversation between these two people, who once dated.

"Oh," Veronica said, putting out her hand for Cristina to shake. "Veronica Carlsson. Townhouse 11. Pleased to meet you."

Cristina took the woman's hand and gave it a gentle shake. "Cristina Yang. Townhouse 26."

"Well, Owen, it is good to see you," Veronica said. "You can call, anytime to chat, if you want. Good luck on finding the owner of the dog."

"Goodbye, Veronica," Owen said, as the woman left. "So let's go out on the street to put out the rest of the flyers."

Cristina knew it was not her business to ask about Veronica. After all, she just met the man, yesterday. She also figured that there was no hope that Owen would be remotely interested in her, if that was the kind of woman to which he was attracted. She was a little sad about it but she figured nothing had really happened between the two of them so that was okay. It was good that she learned that, now, instead of getting her hopes up.

They went out of the complex and started putting up the flyers on the street. Cristina held the flyers and the sticky tape, while Dr. Hunt stuck them on the lamp posts. They conversed and laughed easily with each other. Cristina was no longer worried about impressing Dr. Hunt, since she concluded that he would not be interested, so she just let her true personality shine through. He told her all the funny stories about the animals that passed through his clinic. She told him tales of all of the strange people that worked at her company.

"In fact, that is how I found you," she said. "Do you know Kathleen Farmer? She works in IT at our company." The name did not ring a bell for Dr. Hunt.

"Tell me her pet's name. I remember my patients better than their humans," he admitted. "Sad but true."

"Okay, she has two Siamese cats called Thelma and Louise," Cristina said. "She was the one who recommended you to me because you gave such excellent care to Thelma and Louise." Dr. Hunt slapped his hand to his forehead.

"Of course, Thelma and Louise. Thelma is very fidgety while Louise is cool as a cucumber," he said. "Yes, I know Kathleen Farmer. Brown-haired woman."

"Yes, that's her," Cristina said. She wanted to laugh at how the vet remembered the animals but not Kathleen. Kathleen would be so gravely disappointed since she went on and on about the handsome vet.

When they were through putting up the flyers, they walked back to her townhouse. "Thank you very much," she said. "I am going to have some spaghetti and meatballs for lunch. Nothing fancy. Do you want to stay?"

"Yes, thank you," he said. "I didn't have any breakfast this morning because I was fixing your car."

"Oh, then you definitely have to stay. If you hadn't been working on my car, you would have had breakfast. Come on in, it won't take long, since I am using pre-made frozen meatballs from Sam's Club," she said. He liked that she didn't even pretend that she was going to make the meatballs from scratch, like some people would have done. It made him smile.

He sat in her kitchen with Taz at his feet and watched as she prepared the spaghetti and meatballs. She was right. It didn't take that long. He loved that she took care to grate fresh Parmesan cheese over the pasta dish. She had also heated some garlic bread in the oven and placed two slices on each plate.

She presented him with the finished product. "Tada!" she said, triumphantly. She poured him out a tall, cool glass of iced tea. "Enjoy, Dr. Hunt."

She then sat down and the two of them had their lunch. Taz looked up, longingly at the two of them, hoping for a tidbit. Dr. Hunt broke off a piece of meatball and Taz hungrily ate it as fast as he could.

"You're going to give him bad habits," Cristina said, as she too, broke off a piece of meatball and gave it to Taz. "I guess I am just as guilty, Dr. Hunt." They both grinned at each other.

"Um, do you think that you could call me Owen?" he asked. "After all, we are sharing a meal together."

"Sure," she agreed. "You can call me Cristina, too. Just remember there is no 'h' in it. A pet peeve of mine, when people put an 'h' in my name, when there is none."

"Yes, I do remember from the form you filled out," he said. "Absolutely. No 'h' ever."

"Thank you," she said. They continued to have pleasant conversation, after they finished their meal. He helped her wash up the pots and the dishes.

"So I guess I better head back home," he said. "Thank you for a lovely morning and lunch."

"Yeah, okay. Hey, wait a minute, how are you going to get back home?" she said. "You drove my car, here."

"I guess I will just catch a taxi," he said. "It's no problem."

"No, you won't. I will take you home. You fixed my car for me and for that, I am extremely appreciative. I get to have it to go to work in the morning," she said. "So no talk about getting a taxi. I will take you home." She got her car keys and they got into her car and headed to his house on Greenvale Avenue.

"It's this one," Owen said. It was a lovely two-storey Craftsman with a huge front porch. It was painted in the soothing colors of sage green and eggshell.

"Wow, it is beautiful," Cristina said. "You must love living here." Owen got out of the car and gently closed the door.

"Thanks for the ride back," he said. "Do you want to come inside and see the house?"

"Not right now," she said. "I think I have to get back to Taz and to see if any calls have started to come in. But thank you, anyway. Some other time, perhaps."

"Okay," he said. "Enjoy the rest of your Sunday." She waved at him. As he watched her drive away, Owen let out a long sigh.

* * *

**A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate when you take the time to do so.**


	4. Chapter 4 Waiting For A Call

As Cristina drove home, it suddenly hit her that maybe, Owen had wanted to prolong their day, together. That's why he had asked her to see his house.

She just wasn't sure. She had been out of the dating game for the last two years that she completely forgot what signals guys give, when they are interested in a girl. She thought about it for a moment, then shook her head.

"Nah, you're imagining it, Cristina," she told herself. "He was just being nice." She put the thought out of her mind and happily went on her way home.

* * *

The next morning, she woke up at 5 a.m, as usual. She had to rouse Taz up to do his toilet. She picked him up from his bed. He protested loudly by barking. He could barely open his eyes but Cristina was determined. She had to keep to her usual schedule and no pup was going to ruin it. She opened the door and placed the pup on the ground. There was a slight morning chill in the air. Both she and Taz shivered. After waiting a full 15 minutes for Taz to do anything, he finally did it. Cristina breathed a sigh of relief. After making her trek to the disposal unit and back to the townhouse, she and Taz went back inside. She took a quick shower and changed her clothes. Her schedule was already thrown off by the length of time waiting for Taz to relieve himself.

She put together a couple of pages of newspapers and rested them on the floor. "Taz, we need to have a serious talk." The pup looked up at her with soulful eyes.

"Don't look at me that way, Taz. This is important. I am leaving you for the day and I know that sometimes, you might not be able to hold it in until I come back from work. So, if you feel the need to go, please do it on these newspapers. I cannot abide any lifting of your leg on my walls, furniture or appliances. That is totally unacceptable," she said. "I hope that since you and I are sharing this abode that we can live in harmony. This is just one of the rules. I hope you do understand."

Taz cocked his head to one side. "I am taking that as an acknowledgement that you understand what I am saying," she said. "Okay, goodbye, now. Be a good boy."

As she left the house, she could not help but feel a pang of guilt about leaving him all alone in the townhome. She wondered if she should put up a doggie door on her back door, so he could freely go outside and come back in. "What are you thinking, Cristina?" she chided herself. "The dog is going to go back to his rightful home. Stop thinking of making changes to your door."

At work, she felt distracted. All she could think about was how Taz was getting along by himself. She wondered if he felt all alone. She had left him a bowl of water and doggie biscuits as snacks during the day. She wondered if he was okay. She called Kathleen Farmer from IT and asked her if that was normal. Kathleen assured that it was and that she had put in a camera so that she could watch Thelma and Louise during the day. Cristina felt that the camera was a little extreme but she didn't say anything. The strangest thing happened that day. Kathleen and Cristina, who had never been friends but only professional colleagues, bonded because of their pets.

When she got home, Cristina was overjoyed to see Taz. She picked him up and he licked her all over her face. With some trepidation, she checked her messages on her phone. There was a call from her mother, another from the drycleaners and one from the library that a book she had requested had come in. There were no calls about Taz. She was pleased about that.

Tuesday was pretty much the same as Monday though she was a lot less anxious about Taz, since he had weathered Monday quite well by himself. When she came home that night, he was waiting at the front door. It was like if he knew she was going to be there. "Are you psychic, little guy?" she said, as she picked him up and hugged his small body. Again, she checked her messages. There was nothing about Taz. She breathed a sigh of relief.

On Wednesday night, while she was feeding Taz his dinner, the phone rang. Her heart almost stopped. Was someone calling about Taz? She took a deep breath before she answered the phone.

"Hello," she said.

"Hey, Cristina, how are you doing?" a familiar voice was on the line. It was the vet, Dr. Hunt.

"Oh, hi, Dr. Hunt, I am doing fine," she said, relieved that it was not Taz's owner.

"Remember we had agreed that you were going to call me Owen," he said.

"Oh, yes, we did," she said. "So how can I help you, Owen?"

"I was just calling about Taz and his sprained leg. How is the little guy doing?" Owen asked. "I usually call all of my patients a couple of days after to find out how they are doing."

"Oh, okay," Cristina said. "Actually he is doing quite alright. He doesn't favor the leg as much anymore. I think he is well on his way to recovery. He is getting around better and I don't think he is in much pain, anymore." Taz clearly knew that they were speaking about him, as he stood next to her, looking up expectantly.

"Good, good," Owen said. "That is great to hear."

"Well, since he is doing so well, I was wondering whether it was still necessary for me to bring him in on Saturday. By then, I think he should be completely healed," she said. "He's right next to me and he looks perfectly fine."

"No, no," Owen said. "You must bring him in. I have to give him a clean bill of health." There seemed to be a level of insistence in his voice.

"Alright," she agreed. "We will be there, unless someone comes about Taz."

"How is that going?" he asked.

"I haven't had one call about him," Cristina said. "I don't know what is going on. I think just putting the flyers on this street would have been enough. Honestly, though, I have been dreading the possibility that his owner will call."

"Awww, so you're getting attached to the little fella," Owen said with a little bit of mirth in his voice.

"Yes, I am," Cristina said. "It's hard to stay detached when he gives you his soulful look. I can't wait to come home at night and see his little face. Yesterday, he started waiting for me at the front door like if he knows I am there. It is so uncanny."

"Yeah, they do know," Owen said. "They have a great sense of hearing. So he probably heard your car pull up in front of the townhouse."

"That's probably it," Cristina said. "Owen, thanks for calling about Taz. Kathleen was right that you do give wonderful patient care. All your patients' humans appreciate it."

"You're welcome," he said. "So what are you going to do for the rest of the night?"

"I am so beat from the job. I guess I would just have the dinner that I just bought, take a warm bubble bath, watch a movie on HBO and then, hit the sack," she said. "What about you?"

"I am actually cooking," he said. "I am doing some ribs with a baked potato and rosemary roasted vegetables, though it is hard to cut down the recipe measurements when you're cooking for one."

"That sounds like it is going to be delicious, Owen," she said. "Lucky you. I can't remember the last time I've cooked after I have come home from work. Always easier to get take-out."

"Hey, I have an idea," he said. "After Taz's appointment on Saturday, maybe we can go over to my house and cook dinner for the two of us."

"Sure, if you want," she said. "That will be fine. I guess it will work out fine, since Taz will probably be your last client for the day."

"Great," he said. "I will work out the menu and I will make sure we have all of the ingredients."

"Alright, that sounds good," she said. "I think I am going now, Owen. My take-out dinner is calling my name."

He laughed. "Okay, bye, Cristina," he said.

"Bye, Owen," she said, then hung up the phone. "Wasn't that nice of him, Taz? He calls to find out how his patients are doing. Excellent patient care, I must say." The dog seemed to agree.

* * *

It was on Friday night that Cristina finally got the call she was dreading. The lack of calls during the week had lulled into a false sense of complacency that no one was going to call about Taz. When the phone rang, she just assumed it was her mother who often called on Friday nights for her weekly update on Cristina's non-existent dating life.

"Hello, mom," Cristina chirped into the phone.

"Um, no," a male voice said. It was not a voice that Cristina recognized.

"I am sorry about that, sir," Cristina said. "How may I help you?"

"I saw your flyer about the white French bulldog. I think that it is my aunt's dog," the man said. Cristina's heart sank to the pit of her stomach.

"Oh," was all she could say.

"My name is Mark Cohen and my aunt used to live in Townhouse 13," the man said. Townhouse 13 was directly behind Cristina's. Now it made sense about Taz showing up at her back door.

"Used to?" Cristina enquired.

"Yes, used to. My aunt, Esther Abramowitz, died last weekend in the hospital and I went to see about Mortimer and he was gone," Mr. Cohen said. As sad as she was, Cristina could not help but giggle that Mortimer was really Taz's real name.

The man joined in the laughter. "Yes, my aunt named him after her late husband, Mortimer Abramowitz. She called the pup Morty."

"So are you going to come get him?" Cristina asked, a little fearful that Taz was going to be ripped away from her.

"That's the thing," Mr. Cohen said. "I can't take care of him. I am a pilot and I spend most of my time up in the air, so I don't have time to take care of a dog."

"So what are you going to do?" Cristina asked. She was worried about Taz's future.

"Well, since I can't take care of him, I will probably have to put him in a shelter to be adopted," Mr. Cohen said. Cristina gasped. She had an immediate image of Taz in a cage in the shelter.

"No, not a shelter!" she shrieked. "Please don't do that to Taz."

"Taz?" the man asked, puzzled.

"Yes, that is what I call him," Cristina admitted. The man laughed.

"That is certainly a better name than Morty, I can tell you," he said.

"I will take him!" Cristina said. She had already made up her mind. "He already has everything here. I already bought it for him."

"You will?" Mr. Cohen said. "That will help ease the situation so much. You sound like a very caring person. Thank you very much. I am elated that he has a good home."

"No. Thank you," she said, grateful that the man agreed. "I love him so much. Can I ask one thing?"

"Sure," Mr. Cohen said. "Anything, you've just saved me a ton of trouble by taking Morty."

"Do you have his vaccination records?" she asked. "I want him to be protected but I don't want to give him unnecessary shots if he doesn't need it."

"Yes, sure. My aunt had it in her bedroom. I will drop them over at…." Mr. Cohen said.

"Townhouse 26," Cristina said. The man agreed that he would be there in five minutes. As she hung up the phone, she breathed a huge sigh of relief. She looked at Taz at her feet.

"I can't believe your name is Morty. That sounds like if you're 76 years old and you're playing shuffleboard," she said. The pup looked up, apologetically and whimpered. She picked him up and hugged him close. "No more Morty for you. You're Taz and you're mine."

* * *

**A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate when you leave your reviews.**


	5. Chapter 5 Dinner at Dr Hunt's

Cristina woke up early on Saturday morning to the sound of Taz barking. She was very sleepy but she was now a full time dog owner and she had to be a responsible one. She picked him up and together, they went outside for Taz to relieve himself. After a trek to the disposal unit, they both went to the kitchen, where she gave him a breakfast. She sat at her kitchen table with her eyes closed, waiting for him to finish eat. He barked to indicate that he was through, so she picked him up and they went back to her bedroom. She deposited him into his bed, while she crawled back under the covers. Owner and pup fell quickly back asleep and neither awoke until it was noon.

After using the bathroom, Cristina and Taz went down to the kitchen, where she checked her leftovers for something suitable to eat. Having found some Greek food from Thursday, she heated that up and made herself a cup of tea.

"It is going to be a very busy day, Taz. First, the handyman is going to come to put in a dog door on the back door, so you can pass freely through to the backyard during the day. Plus we are going to fix that gap in my fence – the same one you passed through to get into my backyard. We can't have any rabid raccoons passing through that and biting you. No, siree," she said. "That means you won't have to use the newspapers anymore. You can just pass through to the backyard. Won't that be just awesome, Taz?" she said. She could swear that the dog nodded. Maybe she was imagining things.

"Then, we are going over to the vet later to have your leg checked," she continued. Immediately, Taz jumped on his two hind legs to show that he had fully recovered. "Yes, boy, your leg is all better. I don't even think that we need to go for your appointment but Owen insisted that you have to go. Then, we are going over to his house and we are going to cook dinner. That was nice of him to ask, don't you think? He was probably feeling sorry for me, since it is rare that I do get a home-cooked meal. The last time I cooked this week was when I did the spaghetti and meatballs last week and that wasn't really anything, since the meatballs were pre-made and frozen." Taz barked in agreement.

"Plus tomorrow, I have a date," Cristina said, happily. "It's my first date in two years. Well, actually, I have been asked out, plenty of times but I usually decline. You know the guy, don't you, Taz? He was your previous owner's nephew, Mark Cohen. He dropped off your vaccination records, yesterday. He asked me for tonight but since I was going over to Dr. Hunt's house, I told him that we should make it for tomorrow, instead. I am really excited, Taz. I really should get back out there and get my social life back on track." Taz danced around in a circle on his two hind legs in glee. She picked him up and stared into his deep brown eyes. She felt like she could get lost in them. He licked her on the nose.

Just then, the doorbell rang. "I think that is the handyman." It was indeed the handyman, who made quick work of creating a doggie door on Cristina's back door. He also fixed the gap in her fence, so Taz could not escape the back yard. After the handyman left, Cristina found Taz, totally mesmerized by the doggie door.

"Yes, that is for you. Do you want to try it?" She got down to Taz's level to show him the swinging action of the door. "See it swings both ways so you can go and come as you please. Try it, baby." Taz went to the doggie door and gently pushed it with one paw. "That's it. Now push your whole body through." Taz gingerly put a paw on the other side. Then, his head, then his other paw, then the rest of his body.

"Yes, yes, yes, Taz. That's it!" she screamed, clapping wildly for her pup. Taz, who was now on the other side of the door, started yelping frantically. "You can come back in, Taz. Don't panic." She lifted the doggie door, so she could look at him. "It works the same way. Just come back in." The pup rushed back into the kitchen.

"Good boy, Taz," she said. She sat there, patiently, while Taz tried passing through the doggie door, several more times. In the end, she gave him a hug and told him that he was the smartest pup in the whole entire world.

* * *

Later that evening, she and Taz sat awaiting their turn in the Paws, Claws, Feathers and Fur Animal Clinic. She had got there, a little early and noticed that there was a new issue of Dog Fancy to read. "Ah, yes," she said. There was an article on French bulldogs, which immediately caught her attention. It was very informative about the breed and she showed Taz the pictures of the Frenchies, that accompanied the article. "See, Taz, these are doggies just like you."

"Taz Yang," Eunice, the receptionist called out. Cristina didn't know why she bothered because she and Taz were the only clients left in the waiting area. They made their way to the exam room, where she placed the pup on to the table and waited for Owen.

"Hello and how is my favorite patient?" Owen said, as he came in; a broad smile lit up his entire face.

"I think Taz is doing very well," Cristina said. "I told you he was fine." Owen examined the pup's leg. He gently squeezed it and Taz did not react. It was clearly not hurting him anymore.

"Yes, he seems to have healed. Since you brought him in, does that mean that you had no luck with finding his owner?" Owen asked.

"Actually, I did. Apparently, Taz was owned by one of my neighbors, Mrs. Abramowitz. She named him after her husband, Morty," Cristina started to relay the story of Taz's origins.

"Morty?" Owen burst out laughing. "Oh, my God, the poor little guy having to go through life with that name. But since you still have him, something must have happened with Mrs. Abramowitz."

"Yes, the news is not good for her. She died in the hospital last weekend. Her nephew, Mark was seeing about the pup and apparently, he escaped last weekend. He saw my flyer and called me. Since he is a pilot, he couldn't take Taz and said he would have to take him to a shelter to be adopted. I told him, right there and then, that I would take Taz. So here I am, a full-fledged dog owner. Plus I just saved Taz a whole lot of injections because I have his vaccination records," she said, handing over the records to Owen. "Turns out he really is six months old."

"Great, we will just copy this and put this in his file," Owen said. "Congratulations on becoming a dog owner."

"Thank you," she said. "I never thought I would have said this a week ago but I am very pleased to be Taz's human."

"I think he should be pleased that he is your dog. You gave him a good home, Cristina. You've got a good heart," Owen said. Cristina blushed at the compliment.

"Now that we are done here, let's just go over to my place and we can start cooking," Owen continued. "Taz can also meet my girl, Smokey. She is a black Labrador, a lot older than Taz. She's six years old and a beauty."

"Yes, we shall. I will just pay Eunice for the appointment and then, we can be on our way to your house," Cristina said.

"Um, there's no charge for this visit," Owen said. "I really didn't do anything. Just wanted to make sure that Taz was healed. Come on, let's go."

They headed out of the exam room. Owen told Eunice that he was headed out to his house and if she could lock up the clinic. Eunice nodded, while eyeing both he and Cristina, very suspiciously. Where was Dr. Hunt going with his patient's owner?

Cristina, Owen and Taz walked to the back of the clinic and through the gate into the backyard of the adjoining property. Cristina looked around and admired the beauty of the garden, as they walked up the pathway to the back door. As they stepped inside the house, a large black Labrador came running towards them. "Ah, here is my girl, Smokey. Who's a good girl?" Owen said, as he played with the dog's ears. "Put Taz down, Cristina, so they can meet."

With a little bit of trepidation, Cristina rested Taz on the floor. She was a little wary since Smokey was so much bigger than Taz but she need not have worried. Smokey licked Taz on the face and the pup yelped, happily in response. As Smokey left the kitchen, Taz followed.

"Well, I see that they like each other," Cristina said. "That's wonderful to see."

"So while they get acquainted, let's get started on our dinner, shall we? The menu today is roast chicken, mushroom wild rice and asparagus. I also got us some pie and ice cream for dessert. How does that sound?" Owen said, one eyebrow up in anticipation of her answer.

"That sounds fab, Owen. What do you want me to do first?" she asked. "I am an eager and willing participant to this dinner preparation."

"How about basting the chicken before we put it in?" he asked. She nodded in agreement. So they both got down to the preparation of their meal, while Smokey and Taz played together in the living room. Cristina and Owen had very pleasant conversation, while they worked together to prepare the meal. Soon, the smell of a roasted chicken wafted through the house. Since the smell had invaded their olfactory systems, the dogs soon made their way to the kitchen, in hope of tidbits. They sat quietly as Cristina promised them that they would get pieces of chicken along with their usual diet of dog food.

Cristina set the table and Owen brought the beautifully roasted chicken to the table, as well as the serving bowls filled with the wild mushroom rice and the asparagus. As promised, Owen cut out pieces of chicken for the dogs, which Cristina added to their bowls of dog food. Taz eyed Smokey's much bigger bowl with great envy but he knew he did not have the ability to eat that much food.

Cristina and Owen sat down for a very pleasant meal. Their conversation flowed easily and was punctuated by bouts of great laughter. They both welcomed the sweetness of the apple pie and ice cream to finish off the meal. Cristina leaned back into her chair, fully satiated.

"That was just brilliant, Owen. We should do this more often," she said, with a satisfied grin on her face.

"We certainly should," he said. "I am happy that you enjoyed. Even the dogs seemed to have a great time."

She got up and started clearing away the dishes. "You wash and I will clear them away." He agreed and got to the sink, while Cristina emptied the scraps into the garbage bin. She started bringing the dishes for him. As he washed, he asked, "I have tickets for a play tomorrow at the Willetts Center. A friend of mine is in it. Would you like to go? We can go to the early show at 6 p.m. so you can get home in time for a good night's sleep before work on Monday."

"Thanks for the invitation," she said. "But I can't. I have a date tomorrow with that guy – Taz's former owner's nephew. He asked me out when he brought the vaccination records. Funny, huh?"

It was a good thing that Owen's body was turned away from Cristina so she did not see the look of shock and disbelief on his face at what she had just said.

"A date?" he repeated, trying to keep his voice steady. This was something he did not expect.

"Yeah, it has been so long since I have dated," Cristina said. "I can't even tell anymore when a guy is interested, so it was really weird when he asked me out. I can't read the signals, anymore. So when he asked me out, I decided that maybe it's time I get my social life to the forefront, again. I have been putting my career in front of my love life for too long." She laughed but Owen did not join in.

"Would you like to see the rest of the house?" he asked, trying to change the subject. "I have only confined you here to the kitchen."

"Sure, I would love to," Cristina said, very enthusiastically. Since the kitchen was most definitely a gourmet one, she was excited to see the rest of the house. As they started their tour, Taz and Smokey faithfully followed. He showed her the open space living/dining room, his study, the laundry room, the four bedrooms and their bathrooms. Oak hardwood floors throughout the house, except for the bathrooms, which were clad in porcelain tiles. He clearly had excellent taste, she had to admit. Who knew behind that great big hunky exterior lay a man, who could have been an interior designer?

"The house is wonderful, Owen," she said. "I wished I could decorate as well as you."

"Thank you," he said. "I read a lot of design magazines and I get a lot of ideas. I then tailor them to my needs."

"Well, you have done a marvelous job here," she said, her eyes were shining. They walked back downstairs to the kitchen.

"Well, I guess Taz and I better head back home," she said, as she clipped on the leash to Taz's collar. "Good-bye, Owen. You don't have to walk us out. We're fine to walk back to the car in the clinic's parking lot. Thank you for everything. We have had a wonderful evening with you and Smokey."

She turned and started opening the back door. Owen found himself, following after her. He rested her hand over hers on the door knob and said, "Wait. I have to tell you something." She turned around and found that he was extremely close to her. She could smell his aftershave on his face. He could smell her shampoo in her curly locks.

"Remember when you told me that you haven't dated in a while and that you couldn't tell whether a guy was interested. I have been giving you signals since last week – from the time we first met," he said. "I normally don't do all of this for any of my patients' owners. You are the only one."

"Wha-?," Cristina started but he cut her off.

"I decided that since you can't read signals, then this is going to be the most obvious signal you are going to get from me." He pressed her against the back door and rested his lips on her own. He could hear her audibly gasp, a clear indication that she was surprised. But then, something happened. She started to kiss him back. She opened his mouth to accept his tongue as their kiss deepened with each passing second. She dropped her hold of Taz's leash and wrapped her arms around his neck and curled one leg around his body. She felt like she was floating and she needed to hold on to him, ever so tightly.

When they finally broke from each other, he stared into her brown eyes. "Is there a clearer signal than that?"

* * *

**A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I really do appreciate them. Thank you very much.**


	6. Chapter 6 A Date

She was totally breathless when she whispered, "I have a date." Her face looked almost apologetic as she said it.

"Yes, I know," he said. "This is why I am doing this. I don't want you to go on a date with another guy. I want you to date me."

"Date you?" she repeated. He smiled.

"Yes, Cristina. I know I have to spell everything out for you, since you can't read signals," Owen said. "By the way, I don't think that a lovely girl like you should have been dateless for two years. You really put your love life in the background for your career. But come to think of it, I am kinda glad that you did."

"Why?" she asked, puzzled.

"Because, Cristina, if you were dating, then you would have probably been in a steady relationship. As you weren't dating, you are not in a steady relationship. You are single, free and clear and therefore, we could start dating," he said, triumphantly. "But of course, that is only if you want to date me."

She was quiet. That made him a little uneasy. Then, she spoke. "Full disclosure, here. I didn't think that you would want to date me. I didn't think that I was your type."

He shook his head because he was totally confused by her statement. "Why? What made you think so?"

"Because I saw Veronica, your ex-girlfriend. She is so different from me and I thought that if that was the kind of girl you liked, then you wouldn't be interested in me," she explained. She walked back to the table and sat down. He followed her and sat down, too. He took her hand into his.

"So that means that you were interested in me, initially. That makes me feel really good," he said, with a chuckle. "But about Veronica, there is a reason she is my ex-girlfriend and not my current girlfriend. Yes, she is attractive but so are you. Veronica and I never clicked all that well. I mean we did try for a while but it just wasn't going to work out."

"So you find me attractive?" she asked, a little insecurity in her voice. "Even though I wear sweatpants and old t-shirts on the weekend and I put my hair up in a scrunchie and I don't wear designer jogging suits."

"Actually, that was what I find most endearing about you. You don't need all of the fancy stuff. You're not pretentious. You are just you. And yes, Cristina, I find you very attractive. From the time I saw you in that exam room with Taz, I wanted to get to know you better and it has been my greatest pleasure to do so. You're so funny; you make me laugh. We have great conversations. That was one thing about Veronica and me – we didn't have such great conversations. I just like being around you."

"Thanks," she said, smiling brightly at him.

"So we come back to the main question – would you like to date me? Because I really want to date you," he said.

"But…but….but what about Mark and my date, tomorrow? What do I tell him?" Cristina said. "He seems to be a nice guy."

"Okay, here is what you do. Go on your date with Mark, tomorrow," he told her. "I want you to go on that date. Since you have been out of the dating game so long, maybe you need to compare him and me. I am not afraid of a little competition. I am confident that you are going to choose me."

"Wow, you sure are," she said, grinning at him. "Maybe you can give me a kiss again to help me make my decision."

"No problem," he said, as he reached over and claimed her lips. This time, there was no surprise on the part of Cristina. She gave it as good as she got as she kissed him with the same amount of passion that he did. As they shared their lips and their tongues with each other, Taz stared up at them, wondering what was going on. He thought he was on his way home. He sat down, waiting for them to finish whatever it was that they were doing.

When they finally broke apart their kiss, she was again breathless. "I have to go home, now."

"Yeah, I know," he said. "Call me tomorrow, after your date. I want to know."

"Okay," she agreed. "So what are you going to do, tomorrow?"

"I am still going to see my friend in his play. He's expecting me to show up, just have to get one ticket instead of two," he said. "I will tell you all about it, when you call."

"It will probably be after nine, closer to 10, when I get back," she said. "Do you still want me to call you?"

"Certainly," he said. "Take my number." He then punched in his number into her phone. "I will be expecting your call." They both smiled and stared at each other, without saying anything. Slowly, she got up.

"I am definitely going now," she said. "Come along, Taz." She picked up Taz's leash from the floor and led him to the back door. She opened the door, looked back at Owen said a soft "bye." He returned it with his own "bye."

As she walked back to her car, she could not help grinning. "Taz," she said. "He likes me. He likes me a lot."

* * *

The next day, Cristina was getting ready for her date with Mark Cohen. He was coming to pick her up at 6.30 for their dinner date. Taz was fascinated as he watched her get ready.

First, she took out a blue dress, then a red dress, then a purple dress. She picked up each one and put it in front of her. "What do you think, Taz? Give me a color." He cocked his head to the right with the purple dress, so she took that as a positive answer to her question.

It felt weird to be choosing a dress and getting ready for a date with one guy, when she was kissing another guy, the day before. She touched her lips. She could still remember the taste and feel of Owen's lips on her own. He was a good kisser. No. He was a great kisser. She felt like she was floating, whenever she kissed him. Surely, that was a good sign.

She put on the purple dress, slipped her feet into some black stilettos and put on her makeup. Finally, she brushed out her curls and put on her perfume. She looked good, she thought, even though it was her first official date in two years. Hmm, she wondered, was that a date with Owen yesterday, when she went over to his house to make dinner?

Nope, she decided. A real date is when a guy asks you out and you get all dressed up and go out. She figured that going to the play would have been a real date. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.

"He's here, Taz," she said. "I am kinda excited." She went down the stairs, followed by Taz. When she opened the door, Mark's face broke out into a huge smile, when he saw her.

"My word, you look terrific, Cristina," he said. "I will be so pleased to have you on my arm, this evening."

"Thank you," she said. "You don't look bad yourself." It was the truth. Mark was tall, with brunette hair that was slightly peppered with grey on the sides. He was 40, thirteen years older than herself. There was a sophisticated air about him, probably from all of his world travels, she thought.

"Shall we go?" he said, offering his arm. She took it but turned around to tell Taz to be a good boy and she would only be gone for a couple of hours. Taz gave a sharp bark and danced a few steps backwards on his hind legs.

The next two hours were pleasant enough. Mark took her to a very fancy restaurant, where he wined and dined her with the best of food and drink. The food was indeed quite delicious, she had to admit. However, she felt different with Mark than she did with Owen. With Owen, their conversations felt easy and unforced. They could talk just about everything.

With Mark, she found herself scrambling to find interesting things to say. She was right, he was very charming and sophisticated but his experiences were far removed from her own. He spoke of things and places that she knew very little about. She understood what Owen was saying about not being able to have a great conversation with Veronica. Just like he and Veronica, it was becoming clearer to her that maybe, she and Mark were not a good fit. Yes, he was a great guy but conversation should not be a struggle, she thought.

When he took her home that night to say good night, he leaned forward to give her a kiss but she offered him her cheek, instead. With that one gesture, they both knew that there was not going to be a second date. "Thank you for taking me out, Mark. It was very kind of you," she said.

"Thank you for a pleasant evening," he said. She watched him walk away and get into his car, before opening her door. Taz was curled up in a ball in the foyer. He was asleep. She gently shook the pup awake.

"Were you trying to wait up for mommy and you couldn't do it?" she asked. The pup still looked very sleepy and yawned. She went to the kitchen and placed him in his bed. That was the new location of his bed. She figured that if he ever needed to go out at night, it was just a short walk to the doggie door and voila, he would be outside. The pup curled up and fell asleep. She went up the stairs and into her bedroom; she stripped off her clothes and threw them in the laundry basket. She took a quick shower, brushed her teeth and changed into a chemise. She then crawled under her covers, picked up her phone that was on the bedside table, scrolled through her contacts to find Owen's number and then pressed the send button.

It was only two rings when the phone was answered on the end. "Cristina," Owen said. "I see that you are home and it is only 9.15 p.m. An early night, I see?" He chuckled, wickedly. "How was your date?"

"Hmmm," she said. "It was fine. Mark looked very handsome, we went to a fancy restaurant downtown, we had lobster and a fine bottle of wine. He was a complete gentleman and he had many amazing stories to tell."

Owen's confidence suddenly wavered. That was not what he was expecting to hear. "Oh?" he said.

"But you know you are right," she said. "I now understand what you are saying about what happened between you and Veronica. That you never had great conversation with her. I fully understand how that is so important in a relationship."

"So what are you saying? That you and Handsome Mark didn't have good conversation?" Owen said. His confidence was starting to rise again.

"It was okay conversation. I just didn't relate to a lot of the things that he was talking about," she said. "He is older, more sophisticated with a lot of varied experiences."

"How old is he?" Owen asked. He knew that Cristina was 27 and at 33, he was only six years older than she was.

"40," Cristina said. Owen quietly whistled. He didn't that there were 13 years separating Mark and Cristina. No wonder they didn't have much in common.

"So no second date?" Owen asked, hopefully. He was now full of confidence.

"No second date," she confirmed. He pumped his fist in the air, glad that she would not have been able to see that.

"Cristina, did he kiss you?" Owen asked, hoping that that the answer would be in the negative.

"Yes," she said, wanting to have a little fun with him. Owen was completely stunned on the other end.

"Wha-?" he said. "You allowed him to kiss you?" His voice cracked.

"YES!" she said. Then, she laughed before she added, "Right on the cheek." Owen breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was not nice, Cristina Yang," he said. "Not at all nice." She continued to giggle.

"By the way, how was the play?" she asked.

"It was actually quite enjoyable. My friend wasn't the best actor but at least, he had fun," Owen said.

"Good. Well, okay, good night," she said. "I am going to sleep, now. Early day, tomorrow."

"Hey, wait a minute," he said. "Since you are not going to go out again with Handsome Mark, I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me."

"A real date? Where we dress up and go out?" she asked. "Where you treat me like a queen?" They both laughed.

"Yes, a real date where we dress up. How about Wednesday?" he asked. "That would give you time to recover from the date with Handsome Mark and I can plan a really lovely first date for you."

"That sounds great. I will even leave work early to get dressed for it," she said.

"Great. About 7, would that be good?" he asked.

"Yes," she concurred. "Seven is fine. So I will see you then."

"Yes," he said. "So good night, Cristina."

"Good night, Owen," she replied. She hung up the phone and placed it on the bedside table. She imagined kissing him, again, before she fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate reading them. They are an incentive to continue when I don't feel like writing. **


	7. Chapter 7 First Date

Cristina stood in front of her mirror. Just a couple of days ago, she was doing the same thing, when she had gone out with Mark. This time, she took out a blue dress, a green dress and a black dress. She placed each dress in front of her and waited for Taz's input.

He barked excitedly for the blue dress, so that was the one she was going to wear. To emphasize his approval, he spun around in a circle. She was even more excited for this date than she was for her date with Mark. She already knew that she and Owen got along and they could converse really well but that was also when she thought that he was just a friend. She wasn't trying to impress him, then.

With their kisses, their relationship had changed in one fell swoop. They were no longer vet and client, no longer just friends. Their relationship had taken a romantic tone and quite honestly, she was glad that it did. She had liked the vet from the first moment that she saw him. Little did she realize that the feeling was mutual, until the day he kissed her at his house.

She slipped on the dress, zipped it up and admired herself in the mirror. She pulled out a pair of navy stilettos and put them on her feet. She applied her make-up, brushed out her hair and rubbed her best perfume on her pulse points. She was ready.

"How do I look, Taz?" she asked the pup. "He has never seen me look this way. He has seen me with my hair in a ponytail and my awful weekend get-up but that didn't drive him away. He saw me at my worst and still wants to date me. Clearly, that man is a keeper."

Taz jumped on his hind legs and barked his approval. "Thank you, Taz," she told him. "I always knew that you had amazing taste. You could be in Paris with all of the fashionistas."

Then, they heard the doorbell. "Ah, there is my date, Taz. Let's go down and let him in." Taz trotted behind her, obediently, as they left her bedroom and down the stairs.

She opened the door and was taken aback by how handsome he looked. Usually, he just wore casual clothes. Tonight, he was wearing a dark suit.

"My, how handsome you look, Dr. Hunt. Even more handsome than Handsome Mark," she said. "Come on in."

As he stepped in, he said, "I would take that as a great compliment. By the way, you look beautiful."

"Yes, I clean up nicely, when I am not wearing sweats and old t-shirts," she said. "It is possible for me to look halfway decent."

"You're selling yourself short," he said. "You are stunning." She blushed.

"Thank you," she said. "Do you want anything or are you ready to leave?"

"I am ready to leave," he said. "Goodbye, Taz." He petted the pup on his head.

"Yes, be a good boy, Taz," she said. "You don't have to wait up for me." The pup yelped as they left.

They got into his car and the first question out of her mouth was "So where are you taking me?" He looked across at her with a grin.

"It's a surprise. I could take you to a fancy restaurant like Handsome Mark but that would be just too pedestrian. I wanted to take you somewhere that explains what I am about," he said.

Cristina noticed that the drive was taking them out of the city and they seemed to be driving for miles until they pulled into the driveway of a large farmhouse.

"A farmhouse?" she said, surprised.

"Yes," he said. "This is my childhood home. My parents still live here."

"So am I going to meet your parents?" she asked. "Isn't it kinda early in the relationship for something like this?"

"We can meet them if you want but that's not where we are going," he said. He drove past the farmhouse until they came to a riverside cabin, which had its lights on.

"Wow," she said. "It's so pretty, here." He opened the door for her and took her hand, as they walked up to the pathway to the cabin.

He opened the door and she was shocked at how he had decorated the place with lots of little lights. In the middle of the cabin was a table set for two, complete with candles and flowers.

"You did all this?" she asked. He nodded.

"I wanted to make this special for you," he said. "I also wanted to let you see a little bit of where I am from. My mom made the food. I told her what I wanted and she did it." He pulled out the chair for her, so she could sit. He then disappeared into the small kitchen and emerged with two plates of food. He placed one plate in front of her and the other in front of his chair.

"Bon appétit, Cristina," he said. "My mom is an awesome cook." As they started eating, Cristina realized that Owen was so right. His mother was a fantastic cook, maybe better than some of those chefs in those fancy establishments. It wasn't the type of food that you would learn from the Cordon Bleu but great all-American cooking.

"Wow, your mom cooks like a champion," Cristina said. "The meat just melts in your mouth. The potatoes are to die for. The vegetables are just done right. At this rate, I can't wait for the dessert."

"My mom is going to be so pleased that you love her cooking," Owen said, laughing. "We have blueberry pie for dessert with some vanilla ice cream."

"Awesome with a capital A," she said. "I think that it would be the finisher that I would have been waiting for."

As they consumed the last of the main meal, Owen brought out the blueberry pie and the vanilla ice cream, which Cristina polished off rather quickly. She lay back on her chair, gently rubbing her stomach.

"That was just fantastic, Owen," she said. "Thank you so much and could you tell your mom thanks, too. All compliments to the chef."

"Are you up for going outside?" he asked. "I want you to take a look at the river."

"Okay," she agreed, so she got up and headed out of the front door of the cabin. He took her hand they walked to the edge of the river.

"I used to go swimming here, every summer," he said. "It was too cold in the winter. Come on." He took her to a large tree, on which there was a swing. It was just a wooden swing that was hung up on the tree by ropes.

He urged, "Have a seat." She did as she was told. He started to gently push her on the swing.

"How many girls have you pushed on this swing?" she asked. He laughed, sheepishly.

"Well, I did bring my dates out here during high school but that was a long time ago. You're the first one I have brought out here as an adult," he said, continuing to laugh.

"Oh, so did you get lucky because of the swing?" she asked, joining in the laughter.

"Well, I did get quite a few of them to kiss me," he admitted.

"Let's not break your record," she said, slowing down the swing. She looked back at him and gave him a cheeky look. He came to the front of the swing and leaned down, claiming her lips. She stood up and threw her arms around his neck, as he put his hands on her tiny waist. Their kisses became even more ardent as their lips and tongues sought each other's. She still got that feeling of floating, so she held on to him, more tightly.

When they finally broke their kiss, he stared into her eyes and said, "I am not going to kiss anyone else here but you, ever again."

"That's a bold promise," she said. "I hope you can keep it." As an answer, he kissed once, again. They continued making out for what seemed like an eternity to Cristina.

"I could do this all night," he said. "But I think we should be heading home, soon. You need a good night's sleep. You have work in the morning."

"Yeah, I know," she said. "I wish we could do this all night." They walked back to the cabin, where they washed the dishes and then, took off the lights.

As they drove away from the cabin, they again passed the farmhouse. There was an older couple sitting on the porch swing.

"Ah, there are my parents," Owen said. He waved at them and they waved back.

"Isn't it kinda rude for us just to wave and pass?" Cristina asked. "After all, we should thank your mom for her fantastic food."

"I thought you said it was too early for the meeting the parents kind of thing?" he asked. "I didn't want to pressure you."

"Oh, stop," she said. "I want to meet them." Owen pulled into a space right in front of the porch. He opened the door for her and helped her out.

"Hey, mom, hey, dad," he said. "Lovely night, isn't it?"

"Very," his mother said. "Look at all of the stars out." She looked expectantly at Cristina, as she waited to be introduced.

"Mom, Dad, this is Cristina Yang," Owen said. "These are my parents, Effie and Martin Hunt."

"Pleased to meet you," Cristina said. "Mrs. Hunt, that was a wonderful meal you cooked for Owen and me." She shook hands with both of Owen's parents.

"Would you like to stay and have a cup of tea?" Effie asked. Owen and Cristina looked at each other. It was hard to refuse because she cooked that wonderful meal for the both of them. They went and took a seat on a bench on the porch, as Effie rushed inside the house and brought back two steaming cups of tea.

As she sipped on the tea, Cristina made sure to compliment them on how lovely the farm was.

"Yes, my grandfather started this farm," Martin replied. "Owen was born here, upstairs in the master bedroom. He was coming so fast; we couldn't make it to the hospital. We had to call our neighbor, Fannie to deliver him. She was a midwife." Owen smiled because he heard that story many a time.

"He was a huge baby, too," Effie said. "Damn near killed me because I didn't get any drugs to help with the pain." Owen chuckled. His parents loved to tell that story.

"Well, this is where Owen learned to love the animals," Martin said. "He used to help me with all of the animals. Got up early every morning before he went to school to feed them. Plus he was always bringing home some stray dog for us to care for."

"That sounds like the kind of man who definitely grew up to be a vet," Cristina said. "That's how I met him. He is the vet for my dog, Taz."

"Oh," Effie said. "Owen, you didn't mention that. You just told me that you were bringing a young woman to the cabin for dinner."

"Mom, I don't have to tell you everything," Owen said, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Hmmm," Effie said, shaking her head. "You know this is the first time that Owen brought a girl to the cabin and asked me to cook dinner for you." Owen rolled his eyes. This was one of the reasons he was a little reluctant to stop and chat. "You must be very special."

Her son was embarrassed. "I think we have to leave, now," Owen said. "Cristina has an early morning." He got up and helped Cristina off the bench.

"Thank you for everything," Cristina said. "And so lovely to meet you both."

As they walked back to the truck, Effie turned to Martin and said, "I think that girl may finally be the one."

"Yeah, looks like it, Effie," Martin replied. They both looked at each other and laughed, heartily.

* * *

**A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. Thank you for leaving your reviews. These days, I am feeling too depressed to write so I need some encouragement.**


	8. Chapter 8 Hurt Feelings

Cristina had a huge smile on her face, as she walked into work, the next day. It was like she was walking on air. She gave a particularly cheerful greeting to everyone who crossed her path.

"Hello, hello, it's a beautiful day," she said over and over again. She went straight to her office and placed the bag with her breakfast on the desk. As she savored her coffee and ham and cheese croissant, she thought about last night's events. It made her blush as she remembered Owen's many kisses. It was such a different and wonderful date. She got to know about his childhood on the farm and she also met his parents. For a first date, it was just incredible.

She finished off breakfast and took out her laptop and turned it on. Except it didn't turn on. It didn't even want to start. There was this annoying blue screen, instead.

"What the….?" She decided to call IT, immediately. All her work was on that laptop. She couldn't lose any of it. She decided to call Kathleen. After all, she and Kathleen had now bonded over the love of their pets. Maybe, she won't mind being called a little earlier than usual.

She dialed Kathleen's extension. It rang about five times before Kathleen answered.

"Kathleen, hi, it's me, Cristina," she said. "Something is seriously wrong with my laptop. I wanted to start work early and now, I can't get started. Can you please, please come and fix it?"

"Um, Cristina, you know it is not yet working hours," Kathleen said. "I am still having my breakfast."

"Yes, I know that, Kathleen. But I will be stuck here with nothing to do for at least an hour and a half before official work hours start. Please, please," Cristina said. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Kathleen sighed on the other end, before saying that she would come up as soon as she finished her breakfast.

"Thank you, thank you so much," Cristina said. "I will bring you a treat tomorrow." Kathleen laughed on the other end.

It was another 20 minutes before Kathleen arrived at Cristina's office. "Okay, let me see what is the trouble?" Kathleen said.

"It just won't start and there just seems to be this awful blue screen mocking me," Cristina said. Kathleen shook her head. All these corporate types only knew how to use their computers and not a single thing about fixing them. Kathleen sat down and did a little bit of fiddling and started running a diagnostic test on the computer.

"This is going to take a little bit of time," she said. "So maybe we can chit-chat while we wait."

"Okay," Cristina said. "How are Thelma and Louise?" A big smile lit up Kathleen's face.

"Thelma and Louise are just dandy," Kathleen said. "I already looked at them on the nanny cam. How is Taz?"

"Oh, Taz is doing very well. He has mastered the doggie door and he waits for me every day, when I come home from work. It's so cute, he is always there at the front door, sitting and waiting," Cristina said.

"So his leg is all healed up, now?" Kathleen asked, giving a brief look at the computer screen to see how far the tests had gone.

"Yes, it is," Cristina said. "We had it checked at Owen's office last weekend and he said it had healed up, quite nicely. Taz is tearing around the townhouse on all fours, now."

"Owen?" Kathleen said, in an incredulous tone. "You mean Dr. Hunt? You call him Owen?"

"Yes," Cristina said, suddenly feeling an undercurrent of hostility from Kathleen.

"How? Why?" Kathleen said. She needed to know how was it that Cristina Yang was now on a first-name basis with "her" vet. Especially, since she was the one who recommended the said vet.

"Um, he told me to call him Owen," Cristina said. "That was when he came across to my house and helped me put up the flyers to find Taz's owner. I made him some lunch and he told me to call him Owen. Of course, that was before he and I cooked dinner at his house after Taz's appointment last weekend."

"Hold up, hold up," Kathleen said. "You and Dr. Hunt cooked dinner at his house?"

Cristina nodded. The undercurrent of hostility was no longer under the surface but had completely bubbled up to the top.

"My God," Kathleen said, throwing up her hands in the air. "Next, you're going to tell me that you and he went on a date together." Cristina stayed silent but apparently, her silence spoke volumes to Kathleen.

"Oh, oh, I can't believe this," Kathleen said. "You did go on a date with him." Cristina's lower lip quivered. She didn't want to lie to Kathleen.

"Um, um, yes," Cristina said, softly.

"Big fancy restaurant, probably," Kathleen said. It was clear that she was seething. For years, she had harbored a crush on her cats' vet and just like that, Cristina Yang in a matter of a week and a half, had been asked out on a date with the handsome vet.

"Um, no," Cristina said. "We went to his childhood home on a farm and had dinner at a riverside cabin." Kathleen could not believe what she was hearing.

"You've been to his childhood home! I guess that means you met his parents," Kathleen's lips were now pursed tightly together after she spoke.

Cristina nodded. It was clear to her that Kathleen had some feelings towards Owen. She didn't know quite what to say. She couldn't say she was sorry because she really was not. She was happy that she went out with Owen.

What followed were several minutes of awkward silence. Kathleen concentrated on the laptop, even though there was nothing that she could really do about it at the moment. Cristina stared at her shoes.

Just then, her phone rang. She looked at the screen. It was Owen. She wondered whether to answer it but since the phone was on her desk, Kathleen could clearly see that it was Owen who was calling.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" Kathleen said, sharply.

"Um, yes," Cristina said. She picked up the phone and pressed the answer button.

"Hey, beautiful lady," Owen said, very happily on the other end.

"Oh, hi," Cristina said. "What's up?"

"I was just thinking about you, while I make my breakfast," Owen said. "Today is surgical day here at the clinic, so I must have a really good breakfast. So what are you doing?"

"Nothing much," Cristina replied. She looked across at Kathleen. "Kathleen, the fabulous IT person is fixing my computer, right now." She wondered if it was too much to call Kathleen "fabulous." Kathleen still had a very grim expression.

"Oh, yes, Thelma and Louise's mother. Tell her I said hello," Owen said, unaware that he was the reason for the strife between the two women.

"Owen says hello, Kathleen," Cristina said. Kathleen grunted before she answered, "Tell him hello. Your computer has been fixed." She got up to leave the office.

"Thank you so much, Kathleen," Cristina said but she didn't think that the woman was listening, anymore. She had already tuned Cristina out.

"Owen Hunt, you have just got me blackballed by the IT department," she shrieked. "How could you do this?"

"What do you mean?" he said. "I don't know about anything that is going on your office."

"Kathleen! I am talking about Kathleen!" Cristina said. "She has had a crush on you, it seems, like for a long time. And there I am babbling on about you and she is getting resentful of me by the minute."

"You were babbling about me?" he asked. "I kinda like it. Tell me more."

"I just told her about our date," she said. "She was not too happy. She also probably kicks herself for recommending you as her vet."

"Well, I am glad that she did because otherwise, I would never have met you," he said. "She did me a favor."

"I should have known and been a lot more sensitive," Cristina said. "She used to go on and on about you about how handsome you were. I feel so bad, now."

"It's not your fault, Cristina. I can't control how irresistible I am to some of my patients' owners," he said, chuckling.

"Ohhhh!" Cristina groaned. "Maybe I should get her some raspberry cheesecake. I can't have the IT department against me. She will poison all of them against me. They won't ever come to fix my IT issues. She will tell them that I stole her man. Woe is me!" She wailed.

"Oh, Cristina. She is not going to do that. They have to do their jobs, even if they don't like you. Now calm down," Owen said.

"You do know it is your fault. You are irresistible," she said. He laughed. "I can't help myself and neither can Kathleen."

"I only want to be irresistible to you," he said. "Did you enjoy yourself last night?"

"Very much so," she said. "It was perhaps one of the best dates of my life, probably the best. It was different. No fancy restaurant can compare to the ambience of that riverside cabin. Of course, the best part was what happened at the swing."

"The swing? I knew you would enjoy that," he said. "That was my best part, too. So I was wondering whether you would like to go out with me on Saturday. After I wrap up all of the appointments on that day, I will be all yours."

"So what do you have planned that can top last night?" she asked. "You now have me hanging by a string, here."

"Actually, I was hoping that you would choose it," he said. "I want you to show me something that's all about you. I want to get to know you better. I want to know what made you into who you are today."

"Ooh, you've given me a challenge," she said. "Okay, I accept it. I will pick it and choose something that represents who I am."

"Great, so should I come and pick you up around 7.30 p.m. on Saturday?" he asked.

"Nope," she said. "I will pick you up. Since it is about me, I am going to take charge of this date."

"I love a woman who takes command," he said. "I can't wait."

"Anyway, I have to go now, Owen," she said. "Talk to you later."

"Absolutely," he answered, before he hung up. Even though Cristina had sounded so confident, she had not a clue about what she was going to do about their date for Saturday.

* * *

After a long day of work, she went home and her take out dinner of Indian food in front of her, while Taz had his dinner.

"Taz, what am I going to do?" she said, as she bit into her Tandoori chicken. "I wanted it to be something special, you know. Like his date was. Do you have any ideas?"

Taz barked sharply to indicate that he was fresh out of ideas. She chewed her chicken, lost in thought. It did occur to her that this chicken tasted absolutely fabulous.

"You know what this chicken reminds me of? That Indian restaurant that was near our house when we lived on 72nd Street. Mom and Dad used to take me there, all of the time. But of course, we moved to Hillsboro Avenue and we used to go that Thai place a lot," she told Taz. "Those were awesome times. We moved a lot, Taz. Every time, we moved into a bigger and better house. It was just great."

Then, the thought hit her. She knew exactly what she was going to do. "We're going to do a tour of all of the neighborhoods I lived in when I was growing up. And let him taste a little bit from all of our favorite restaurants that my family used to frequent. I am definitely giving him a feel for where I am from and what I am all about." Taz was excited because she seemed excited.

"Yes, Taz, that is what we are going to do," she said. She picked up the dog and together, they danced it out.

* * *

**A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate when you leave a review.**


	9. Chapter 9 Second Date

As Owen wrapped up his final patient for the day, he got a message on his phone. He smiled when he saw that it was from Cristina. There were only two words in the message, "Dress casual."

"Well, that should be it for Charlie," Owen told the bichon frise's owner, Matilda Jones. "Just make sure he gets lots of rest and to take the antibiotics. He will be as right as rain in a week's time."

"Thank you, Dr. Hunt," Matilda said. She picked up her dog and went out into the waiting area.

Owen cleaned up the exam room and disposed of his medical waste. He washed his hands in the sink and dried off his hands. He walked out of his office and waved goodbye to Eunice, his receptionist and headed back to his house at the back of the clinic.

As soon as he got in, he jumped in the shower. The warm water felt good against his skin. He was so looking forward to this date – their official second date. Though it could be their third date, he thought, if they counted the time when they both cooked at his house. That could have been their first date because it did end in some really hot kissing. He was so glad that he finally made the move. Cristina was so oblivious to everything. It was a go-big moment for him when he finally kissed her.

He got out of the shower, dried himself and stood naked in front of his closet. What was he going to wear? He knew that she advised him to go casual. Yeah, okay, casual, he thought. He pulled out a clean pair of jeans. He pondered over what shirt to wear. He didn't want to wear a t-shirt. That seemed too everyday. He could wear a polo shirt but that, too, seemed too normal. He wanted to look like he took the time to dress for a date for her. Finally, he got it. He pulled out a pale blue shirt. Everyone always remarked how it brought out his eyes, whenever they saw him wearing it.

He got dressed, quickly, and slapped on some aftershave cologne. He ran a comb through his hair. He was ready. Now, it was just for Cristina to get there. He went down to the kitchen, got Smokey her dinner and waited. As he waited, he thought how strange it was that he was the one waiting. Usually, as soon as he got dressed, he would have been out of there, going to pick his date up. "Come on, Cristina," he said. He never realized how hard it was for girls, waiting for their dates, especially if their date was late. He looked at his watch. She said she would have been there by 7.30 p.m. It was now 7.40 p.m. Then, he heard the doorbell. "Yes!" he shouted.

He nearly tripped over Smokey as he rushed to get the door. He hadn't seen Cristina since Wednesday and was anxious to see her. He opened the door and he just couldn't help but smile. She looked casual but very pretty. She was also in jeans, topped by a pale yellow top and a tan leather jacket.

"Hey, I like that shirt," she said. "It brings out your eyes." It was definitely the right choice, he thought.

"Hey, good to see you," he said. He gave her a light touch on her lips.

"So, are you ready?" she asked.

"Yes, yes," he said. "Let me just grab my jacket." He took out his black leather jacket from the closet and they were on their way.

"I hope you enjoy this," Cristina said, as they started driving away. "You wanted to know more about me. Well, this is what I am going to do. We are going to visit every house that I have lived in and we can go try some food from a restaurant that my family used to go to, when I was a kid. I hope you have a strong stomach because we are going to taste some very diverse ethnic food. So our first visit will be in the Spencer Heights neighborhood."

"So it is going to be a tour of Cristina Yang's life. I like that," he said. They drove to the Spencer Heights neighborhood. It was a working class neighborhood. The houses were modest but there was a sense of family and community.

Cristina pulled up in front of a house – it was small and blue, built in the 1950s, with a porch and a stoop. "Okay, this is 322 72nd Street. I lived here the first six years of my life. My dad and my mom moved here right after graduation from college. They didn't have much money in the beginning, as you can tell from the size of the house. I loved it here. My best friend was Shauna and she lived three houses away from me in that yellow house.

"There were only two bedrooms and I had the bedroom nearer the back of the house. We had a small backyard and I used to play there with Shauna. My dad, Jon, loved all kinds of food, so my mom, Helen and I were treated to different kinds of food every day. So I am going to introduce to the Indian restaurant that we used to go to, when I was a kid. It's just a couple of blocks away."

She drove down the street to a restaurant called Jaipur. There was a young Indian man waiting on the sidewalk with a bag in his hands. Cristina took the bag from him and paid him.

"Okay, this is something my mom and dad loved to eat here," she said. "This is chola tikki. It is a chickpeas patty. Spicy and tasty." She handed Owen a patty in a napkin. He took one bite.

"Ooh, it is spicy," he said. "But good." He finished it and said, "I think I need water." She laughed and pulled out a bottle of water from the bag.

"It's just the seeded green chilis," she said. She watched him gulp down the water.

"So we're moving on to Stoker Place neighborhood," she said. They drove about 10 blocks and then they pulled up in front of a light green Arts and Crafts styled one-storey house. "This is 475 Hillsboro Avenue. As you can tell, it was a larger house. We had three bedrooms this time and two bathrooms. We lived here for four years. My bedroom was at the front this time. I was very shy and used to watch all of the neighborhood kids play dodgeball on the street. I never came out and they used to call me the geeky Asian kid." She laughed.

"The good thing about this neighborhood was that my school was not far away. Just around the corner," she said. She drove around the corner to Thomas Jefferson Elementary School. "Except while it was so close to home, I got bullied. Remember I was the geeky Asian kid. Those were not good years for me. I pretty much kept to myself and did well, academically."

"If I had known you then, I would have protected you," Owen declared. "Nobody was going to mess with you."

"Ah, I wish you would have been there, too," Cristina said. "There were many nights I cried. I was so glad to get out of elementary school." They drove away from the school and stopped in front of another restaurant – this time a Thai food place called Thai House. There was another young man, waiting with a bag, which he handed to Cristina.

Cristina opened the bag and handed Owen a salad in a small bowl. "This is a Thai salad with cashews. It's whole cashews with cucumber, red pepper, carrot, Thai herbs and then, tossed with a dressing." As they ate, he asked, "Are we ever going to get out of this car?"

She laughed. "The next place we will." They finished off the salad before they moved on for 15 blocks. The next neighborhood was a lot more upscale. It was a gated neighborhood called Brookstone. She punched in the code for the gate.

"Wow, you still know the code," Owen asked.

"Well, they do change the code every six months but since my parents still live here, I know the code," she said. She gave him a wicked grin.

"What? Are we going to meet your parents?" he asked. He was not ready for this. To be scrutinized by your new girlfriend's parents was one of the worst experiences in the world. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable. His heart started to race a bit.

She pulled up in front of a large contemporary styled house. He did notice that only the security lights were on. "Don't worry. My parents are on an Alaskan cruise, so you can breathe a sigh of relief. My dad got a major promotion and a huge raise with it. This is where I spent the next eight years of my life." She drove into the driveway and reversed back on the street to leave the gated community.

"Some day, I hope we can get here when they are home," Cristina said, grabbing his hand. "I want them to meet you. After all, I have met your parents. Fair is fair. You have to meet mine."

"Yes," Owen said. "Some day." At least it wasn't today, he thought. He needed advanced warning for that.

As they drove out of the community, Cristina said, "Well I switched to private school from then on. The school is just about two miles away." As they drove to the school, Owen could see that the school had a beautiful campus.

"This is Somerset Academy. I was here until I was 18. The best thing about this place was they had a zero-tolerance attitude when it came to bullying. I loved it here," she said. "The teachers loved a geek like me."

They drove off, leaving Somerset Academy behind. She pulled into a parking lot of a Korean restaurant called Seoul Time.

"Of course, this was my father's favorite. Are you ready for some Korean barbecue?" she said.

"Am I? So ready for that," he said, opening the car door. They walked hand in hand to the restaurant. The girl at the front greeted Cristina by name. Clearly, she was a regular and popular customer because they were shown to one of the best tables in the place, next to a large picture window.

The waiter came and asked, "Miss Yang, your order is ready," he said.

"Thank you so much," she replied. "Just bring that and a couple of beers, will you?"

"Certainly," the waiter said. "Will be right back." Cristina grinned across at Owen.

"So you've had your appetizer and your salad, this is now the main course. And of course, it had to be Korean," she said. "My dad brought us here often. That's why they know my name. We still come here sometimes for family dinners."

"So what are we having?" he asked. She didn't get chance to answer as the waiter placed the bulgogi beef in front of them with side dishes of steamed rice, kimchi and stir-fried mushrooms.

"Ah, this looks really good," he said.

"It is really good. Why do you think we came here all of the time?" she said. "Dig in, son. It's going to be a great night."

As they ate and chatted, Owen looked around the other diners – it was a mixed crowd of people of all races. Clearly, the reputation of this place had definitely spilled over from the Korean community. He liked the place. It wasn't a fancy restaurant but a casual place where families could come and have good Korean food.

At the end of it, he was so stuffed. He had cleared everything away from his plate. He could barely move.

"We're not getting dessert at this place, are we?" he asked. "I don't know if I have room."

"Oh, we will get dessert but not here," Cristina said. "I just have my last place to show you." She paid the bill and they slowly made their way out of the restaurant. Owen groaned as he slumped in the passenger seat.

"Oh, God," he said. "I am too full. I am not sure I have space for anything else."

"By the time we get there, you will be okay," she said. They drove for a while until they got to a familiar campus.

"Hey, I know this place – this is where I went to college," he said. "I got my veterinary degree here."

"I went to school here, too. But I guess we were different years and weren't here at the same time," she said. "You know, given that you're in your 30s and I am still in my 20s." She snickered.

"I don't like the sound of that snicker," he said, shaking his head. They drove past the campus until they got to an apartment complex. It was a rather nondescript façade but a lively building because most of the tenants were college students.

"Okay, I lived here for four years on the third floor of this building. Apartment 311. I had a roommate named Sylvie, who had the most boyfriends of anyone I have ever met in the four years we lived together," Cristina said.

Owen laughed. "So what about you? Surely, you had a couple of guys coming to visit you at 311."

"Well, there were two guys that I dated during college but that was a long time ago," Cristina admitted. "First, there was Oscar who was an economics major and then there was Rodger, who was an engineering student. I have not heard from either of them in years. Living here was okay. At least, I didn't have my parents breathing down my neck all of the time and asking me questions."

She parked the car in the building's parking lot. "So aren't you occupying someone's space here?" he asked.

"Yup but we won't be long. Most of these kids are out, anyway for the night so they won't be back, now," she said. "I have got to get you walking so we can go to our dessert place."

"I know where you're going," he said. "It's Mike's Ice Cream shop, where they have the best homemade ice cream. I haven't had that since I was in school."

"Yep, Mike's is an institution around here," she said. They walked to the ice cream shop and ordered two small cups of fudge vanilla ice cream. That was all the room they had left in their stomach. They walked around the streets, reminiscing about the times they had there when they went there as students.

When the ice cream was all done, they walked back to the car, satiated by all what they had eaten. She drove back to her townhouse complex and stopped at the front.

"Well, this is me, now. I have lived here ever since I graduated from college. My dad paid the downpayment and I have kept up with the mortgage ever since," she said.

"Aren't you going in?" he asked.

"Well, I stopped because I am going to give you a choice. Do you want me to take you home now or do you want to come in and have a cup of coffee to settle your stomach? Whatever you want to do," she told him.

"Of course, I am going to come in for some coffee," he said. He didn't want the night to end. He had learnt so much about Cristina and her life. She drove in and parked in front of her townhouse. They got out and when she opened her door, they found Taz curled up in a ball in the foyer.

"Oh, Taz," she said. She picked up her pup and carried him to the kitchen. "I keep telling you that you don't have to wait up for me." She placed him in his bed, where the pup continued to sleep.

Cristina made two cups of coffee for herself and Owen and they both sat quietly at the kitchen table, just sipping their coffee. When he had finished his coffee, he looked across at her. He really didn't want the night to end. He made up his mind to ask.

"Cristina," he said. She looked up from her coffee. "Can I stay?"

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**A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate when you leave your feedback.**


	10. Chapter 10 After the Date

**A/N Some mature content.**

* * *

"Stay?" Cristina repeated. Her eyes opened wide. She wasn't ready to take the relationship on a physical level as yet. He saw her discomfort, immediately and answered, quickly.

"I don't mean that we have to do anything if you don't want to do that," he said. "It's just that this night has been so wonderful. I don't want it to end. I just want to be with you."

"Oh," she said. Her eyes brightened. It was truly amazing that he didn't want to push the physical angle and that he just wanted to be with her. That spoke volumes to her that he wanted this to be a serious relationship and not one just based on sex.

"Yes," she said. "You can stay. I actually really like that. I can finally kick off my shoes because I don't have to drop you off at your house." She did just that as she kicked off her shoes under the table. "You can do the same, too, if you want." He grinned as he kicked off his shoes, too.

"Good," she said. "Now we can relax." They each had a second cup of coffee, as they continued to chat. "So what did you think of Cristina Yang's life history? I didn't live on a picturesque farm, next to a babbling brook but I think the neighborhoods I lived in, were all colorful."

"First of all, it wasn't a babbling brook. An actual river runs near the edge of the property. So give the river its due. I did think that you had a marvelous childhood, Miss Cristina Yang," he said, laughing. "I thank you so much for giving me the tour. Plus I got the chance to re-visit my old neighborhood at University. I lived only a couple of buildings from where you lived, actually. That was great fun and I must say it was one of the best dates of my life. Nope, it wasn't that. It was the best date of my life."

"Even better than the date we had at your parents' farm?" she teased.

"Hmmm," he replied. "That was a pretty good date, I must admit. The kissing at the swing made that more special."

"Hmmm," Cristina said, as a smile lit up her face. "I did enjoy that kissing. I am wondering whether I could get more of that, tonight."

"If you play your cards right, maybe, just maybe, you could get a little more of that," he said, with a chuckle.

"I think I would like to get a taste of those lips," she said, staring at his well-formed lips.

"Hey, don't treat me like an object," he joked. "These lips are part of the whole package, baby. Come here." He beckoned her to come to him, which she did. He pulled her into his lap and they started to kiss, just softly at first.

"You taste like coffee," she said, as she took his face into her small hands.

"So do you," he replied. Their kisses started to get a little more feverish, as they savored each other's lips and tongues. She tried to get more comfortable on his lap, turning her body to face his, while he wrapped his arms around her to support her.

"I think we should take this somewhere more comfortable," he said, between kisses.

"The couch," she whispered. He got up with her still on him. She easily wrapped her legs around him, as they made their way to the living room. He gently laid her on the couch, with him getting on top of her. Though they had to do some minor shifting around to get comfortable, their lips never broke from each other. It was indeed a very heavy make-out session as his lips and teeth found the side of her neck. She paid him back with his own hickey on the front of his neck.

It was a total shock to her system, when he suddenly stopped and sat upright.

"What's the matter?" she asked, feeling a little abandoned by the fact that his lips were no longer on hers.

"I have to stop," he said. "I don't think I would be able to stop, if we go on much further. You said you weren't ready for that. And unfortunately, my body is telling me that it is ready for something." He shifted himself, as he spoke, which was a clear indication that a certain part of his anatomy was already in a hardened state.

Cristina knew that she, too, was aroused by the wetness she felt down there. She sat up. "Yes, we should stop before it gets too far and neither of us would want to stop. Is there anything else you would like to do?"

"Maybe we could watch a movie until we feel sleepy," he suggested. She jumped up from the couch and started digging into her movie collection. She looked around, apologetically. "There are a lot of chick flicks here, I am sorry to say." She had a DVD of Sleepless in Seattle in her hand.

"Oh, we can watch that," he said. "I haven't seen that one in a while. I found it rather romantic, in fact. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan have wonderful chemistry. No wonder they did a couple of movies, together."

"Yes, yes," Cristina said. "Their chemistry is off the charts. It's always wonderful when you can find actors, who have such wonderful chemistry. It seems almost effortless."

"I think I read somewhere that when actors have chemistry like that, it is because there is some underlying physical attraction to each other," he said. "So because it's already there, the chemistry is so easy."

"I guess," she said, slipping the DVD in her player. She went back to the couch and they snuggled next to each other to watch the movie. They both knew the film so well that they found themselves quoting lines before the actors said it. Their most favorite part was when Annie, Meg Ryan's character was listening to Sam, Tom Hank's character, on the radio, talk about his late wife.

Owen started quoting the lines of the character, Sam, "Well, how long is your program? It was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant that we were supposed to be together …and I knew it. I knew it the very first time I touched her. It was like coming home ….only to no home I'd ever known… I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like ….magic."

It was at that moment as Cristina looked at him, as he was saying the lines that she realized how smitten she was with this man. "That's my favorite part," she said, her eyes betraying how much she was into him.

"Mine, too," he said, as he could clearly see how she felt about him in her eyes. He held her close and kissed the top of her head.

"I think it should be like that," she said. "Just as he said….it should be like magic." He silently agreed. He hoped that meant that she thought that their relationship was like that.

They watched the end of the movie and Cristina wiped a tear away from her eye at the end. "Oh, such a wonderful movie. Nora Ephron is such an amazing writer."

"Yeah, I have always loved this movie," he said. She got up and took the DVD out of the player and put it away. "Do you want to go to sleep, now?"

"Yes," he said. "It has been a long day. I held clinic today and then, went out on this wonderful date." He realized that they hadn't discussed sleeping arrangements so he was going to sleep, wherever she put him for the night. She took his hand and led him up the stairs and into her bedroom. He was secretly pleased that she was allowing him to sleep in her bedroom.

She went into her bathroom and re-emerged five minutes later. Her face was washed clean of make-up and she had brushed her teeth. "I took out a new toothbrush for you," she said. "It's on the bathroom counter." He nodded and went to the bathroom. As he broke open the packaging for the toothbrush, he wondered if it would be okay if he slept in his boxer briefs. She really couldn't expect him to sleep in his jeans and shirt. He brushed his teeth and washed his face and went back out in the bedroom.

Cristina was dressed in a nightshirt and she had laid out a t-shirt for him. He wondered whose t-shirt that was. He hoped it didn't belong to some former lover. That would just be gross, he thought.

"Um, you can wear that t-shirt to bed," she said. "It's my dad's t-shirt. He left it here, when he stayed a couple of nights, after he and my mom had a huge fight."

"Thanks," he said. Cristina threw an interested eye on him, as he undressed. Nothing wrong with examining your own boyfriend, she thought. She greatly admired his physique, as he took off his shirt and jeans and pulled on the t-shirt. He surmised that Cristina's dad was a smaller man because it was a closer fit than what he would normally wear. But he didn't protest. After all, it hadn't really been planned that he would stay the night. If things worked out well between them, he hoped that he would eventually have the privilege of having a drawer at her place where he could put his change of clothes. He knew he was getting ahead of himself, there, since they hadn't actually had sex with each other as yet.

She slipped under the covers and he did the same. She switched off the lamp and they both lay there in the dark stillness of the room with neither of them saying anything. It was a little bit awkward and there was nothing that either of them could do about it.

Since they were both tired, it wasn't long, since they fell asleep. It was a restful sleep for Owen for the most part. It was until the wee hours of the morning, when he felt her small hands under his t-shirt. Since his shirt was on the snug side, he could not help but feel it.

"Cristina," he whispered. He was answered by a murmuring. He wasn't sure she was fully conscious about what she was doing. "Are you awake? Do you know what you are doing?" Again, he was answered by a murmur. He turned around to look at her. Her eyes were closed.

"Cristina," he said, again. If she knew what she was doing, he didn't mind the direction that it was taking. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Do you know what you're doing? I thought you said you weren't ready for that next step," he asked, again. His body was already responding to her caresses. She came forward and grabbed his face and kissed him. He kissed her back with the same urgency as she was kissing him. Her hands found her way down to his boxer briefs and she tugged at it, as she tried to get it off.

"I guess you do know what you're doing," he said, as he slipped off his underwear himself. He couldn't wait to get off that snug t-shirt. "Your turn." He helped her pull that nightshirt over her head. Her breasts were bare, so it was just to get rid of her tiny lacy panties, which he took off with one hand.

He was already hard from anticipation. He desperately wanted her. He was a little surprised that she took charge of the situation as she climbed on top of him. Staring into her eyes, she positioned herself so that he could enter her. It was clear that she desperately wanted him, too. There was not going to be any foreplay.

As she lowered herself on to him, they both gasped as he penetrated her. It felt so good, Cristina thought. It had been a long time since she had been with a man, after having foregone dating for the past two years. Oh yes, she thought, she really missed it.

With their bodies joined, they began moving in rhythm.

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**A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate when people take the time to do so.**


	11. Chapter 11 Frantic Times

Owen woke up because of the persistent scratching on the bedroom door. He rubbed his eyes and looked across at Cristina, who was still asleep. Her hair was artfully spread across her pillow. Just seeing her brought a smile to his face.

He pulled on his underwear and his snug t-shirt. Then, he realized he really didn't have to do that because he was going to open the bedroom door for Taz, not a person. He got up and opened the door. Taz strode into the bedroom, like someone who owned the place.

"Hey, Taz," Owen said. "Good morning." The pup barked sharply in reply. The thought crossed the pup's mind about why was his vet here in his mom's bedroom. He knew that the man did not live in this abode. Owen got back into the bed. Taz surveyed him with a stare.

"Um, you need to get up here?" Owen asked. The pup cocked his head to one side. Owen reached over and picked up the pup, setting him on his chest. Owen stared into the dog's brown eyes.

"Such soulful eyes you have, Taz," Owen said. "Smokey, too. You remember Smokey, eh, boy?" Taz flicked his bat-like ears. "Maybe we can take you over there and you two can play. Oh, shoot, Smokey. I have to get home to feed her."

He gently shook Cristina awake. "Cristina," he said. "I have to be heading home in a bit. Smokey is probably waiting for me." Cristina opened her eyes. She yawned and stretched.

"Good morning," she said in a husky voice.

"When you talk to me in that voice, I find it very difficult to leave," Owen said. He kissed her on the forehead.

"Well, that was the whole point," she said, continuing in that low, husky voice. She reached over and touched him down there.

"Oh, no," he said, removing her hand. "I have to get home to my dog and I think your dog wants breakfast." Taz barked in agreement. That was the whole reason he made the long trek up the stairs to his mom's room.

"Oh, okay," Cristina said, as she went to the bathroom. "I guess you're needing a ride back to your place."

"Yes, thank you," he said, as he too got out of bed and joined her in the bathroom. Together, they brushed their teeth in silence. Owen wanted to smile. It was just so domestic to be doing that, together. They changed into their clothes – Owen into the clothes he wore the night before and Cristina in a t-shirt and sweat pants, her normal weekend wear. Owen chuckled as he pulled on his pants.

"I am going to do the walk of shame," he said. "Heading back to my place in the clothes I wore the night before. Clearly, I have spent the night out. What would my neighbors think of the vet next door?"

"They are just going to say that he is a virile young man and he has an active social life," Cristina replied, as she put her curly hair into a ponytail. "Let's head down. I need to get Taz his breakfast." She tucked the pup under her arm and they headed to the kitchen.

She put out Taz's food for him. which he hungrily started to eat. "Will you feed me when we get to your place?" she asked.

"Yes, I will. Breakfast for the both of us after Smokey gets her food," Owen said. They left Taz still happily eating his food, when they left the townhouse. As they came out of her place, it was just then that a red-headed woman in a designer jogging suit walked past. It was Veronica, Owen's ex. The look of surprise on the woman's face was priceless.

"Owen," she said, her tone was incredulous.

"Um, hi Veronica," Owen said. It was clear to her that Owen had spent the night at Cristina's townhouse. It was still quite early in the morning. "You remember Cristina?"

Cristina nodded at the woman. "Hi," she said. It was really embarrassing, she thought.

"I hope you are well," Owen said. "Cristina is just giving me a ride back home."

"I can see that," Veronica said, her voice tight.

"Well, have a good day," Owen said. He got into the car, as fast as he could. "Let's go, Cristina." Cristina pulled out from her parking spot and drove off, leaving an unhappy Veronica behind.

"That was kinda awkward," Cristina said. Owen whistled.

"Yes, it certainly was," he replied. "Hopefully, we won't run into her too often."

Cristina laughed. "Well, we do live in the same compound. I think the chances of running into her are high."

"Ever think of moving?" Owen said, with a grin. Cristina guffawed even more.

"I know," he said. "You're just going to have to spend more time at my place with Smokey and me. You can bring Taz, too, so he won't feel lonely."

"Thank you for the kind invitation. I am pretty sure that I am going to take you up on it," she said. They both laughed.

* * *

When Owen opened his front door, Smokey was there, waiting in the foyer. She was not a happy camper. In fact, she looked very resentful. If she could talk, the black Labrador would have had some few choice words for her human.

"Oh, Smokey. You look mad," Owen said to the Lab. "Let's go the kitchen to have some breakfast. I trust that you used the doggie door to go out and do your thing." Owen headed to the kitchen, with Smokey and Cristina following behind him. He poured out some dog food into Smokey's bowl and refilled her water bowl.

As he washed his hands, he asked what she would like for breakfast. "Oh, anything," she said.

"Okay, we're going to have pancakes this morning," Owen said. Then, he got to work. As Cristina watched him prepare the pancakes, she said, "It's pretty sexy to watch you cook for me."

"All the more to please you, my lady," he said. He made quick work of preparing the pancakes, while Cristina made coffee for the both of them.

"Here we go," Owen said, as he placed a stack of pancakes in front of her. "Better than IHOP."

"Okay," she said, pouring some maple syrup on to her pancakes. "Let's see." She took a forkful into her mouth. "Mmmm, good. Nice and warm."

"See, I told you," he said. He joined her at the table and started eating his own stack of pancakes. "So what are the plans for the day?"

"Nothing much," she said. "Is there anything you'd like to do?"

"Well, there are things that I would like to do to you," he said. "A continuation of last night, perhaps."

"Oh, really," she said. "Well, we can take a shower together, upstairs, if you want."

"Yeah, I would like that," he said. "I can imagine it, already. So let's finish our breakfast and get upstairs."

They did continue their love-making from last night. After a steamy encounter in the shower, they took it to his bed, where they explored every inch of each other's body. After they basked in the afterglow, Cristina sighed.

"As much as I would like to stay here forever, I really have to get back home to Taz," she said. "He must be wondering where I am."

"Ah, Taz. We should have brought him with us. He would have enjoyed spending the day with Smokey and you could have stayed all day with me," he said. She gave him a kiss and got up from the bed. He watched her change back into her t-shirt and sweatpants. She leaned over and gave him another kiss.

"You can relax. I am sure after such a vigorous love-making session, you could do with some rest," she said. They both laughed. "When I get home, I will give you a call. And thank you for the most enjoyable Sunday morning I have ever had."

* * *

She left his house in a fabulous mood. She stopped off at the doggy bakery and got some treats for Taz. That would soothe any wounded feelings he might have, she thought. When she got to the complex, she parked her car and took out the bag of doggy treats. As she walked to her door, she noticed that something was amiss. Her front door was slightly ajar. She gasped. Had someone broken in? Or did she forget to shut her door when she and Owen left that morning? She wasn't going to take any chances so she decided the best thing to do was to get her neighbor, Bill to take a look. She knocked on his door and explained the situation. Bill was ready to jump into action. He grabbed his baseball bat which he kept in his closet and marched across to Cristina's townhouse. He quietly pushed her front door open and stealthily went inside, while Cristina stayed on her stoop.

Five minutes later, he returned after checking every nook and cranny of Cristina's townhouse. He did notice Taz's food and water bowl in the kitchen but strangely, he didn't see any dog in the townhouse. He did see Cristina's 65-inch LED television was still there. Surely, any thief would have taken that. If the television was not taken, then more than likely, Cristina had probably forgotten to close her door before she left. Bill relaxed. He went back out to the front of the townhouse.

"It's clear, Cristina," he said. "There is no one in your townhouse. Also, I don't think a burglar broke in because your television is still there. You probably forgot to lock your door, this morning."

"Oh, thank goodness," she replied. "Thank you so much, Bill, for being willing to risk life and limb to check the townhouse for me."

"No problem," Bill said with a grin. "Most action I have seen on this boring Sunday."

"Did you see Taz in there?" she asked, anxiously.

"Who's Taz?" Bill said, knowing that there was no one there.

"My dog, Taz. He is a white French bulldog. He is just a pup, so he is small," Cristina said.

"Um, sorry, no. I saw his bowls but no dog," Bill said.

Cristina ran into the townhouse, screaming. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She began to check everywhere, frantic in her search for her dog. She looked in all of his favorite hiding places but to no avail.

"Taz! Taz!" she screamed his name. But there was no sound of any barking or yelping. She could not believe that Taz was not there. She started to hyperventilate. Where could her boy be? How could she be so stupid to have forgotten to lock the door this morning? She knew that Taz was a curious soul, so he must have seen the open door and gone outside. He was probably lost somewhere and didn't know how to get back home. Suppose he went out on the street and got run over by a car. He was a small dog. Someone could miss seeing him, while driving. She ran out on the street, hoping that she did not see a small carcass on the road. She looked down both sides of the street and was relieved that she did not see Taz's body.

She went back to her townhouse. Her brain was hot. She could barely think. Where could he be? She sat on her sofa, feeling totally numb. She dug into her bag and found her phone and called Owen. He answered after two rings.

"Hey there now. You made it back home? Missing me, already," he said, cheerfully on the other side of the line.

With the tears streaming down her face, she spluttered out the words, "Taz is gone."

Owen sat up, immediately. "What? What are you talking about? He's gone?"

"I came home and found my door open and…and…and a neighbor checked out the place for me before I went in. But Taz is nowhere to be found," she said, her voice cracking as she spoke.

"Oh my God. I am coming over, now," Owen said and hung up the phone.

Cristina continued to cry.

* * *

**A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate when you take the time to do so.**


	12. Chapter 12 The Search for Taz

Owen rushed into the townhouse to find a distraught Cristina, sitting and crying on the couch. He rushed to her and took her in his arms.

"We're going to find him," he said, as he rocked her in his arms.

"It's my fault," she cried. "I should have checked to make sure that the door was closed when I left this morning. Now Taz is out there and he is probably scared and can't find his way back home."

"It's okay, we are going to find him, Cristina," Owen said. "Now do we still have that photo of Taz in the computer?" She nodded, with the tears still streaming down her face.

"We're going to make new flyers and we're going to stick it up everywhere, just like we did, when we were trying to find his original owner," he said.

"Yes, yes," Cristina said, rushing to turn on her laptop. She found the flyer she had originally made and started changing the words. "Lost Dog. White French Bulldog pup. Answers to the name of Taz. If found, please call." She typed in her phone number.

"Ooh, before I forget, I brought Smokey with me. I hope you don't mind. She is in the back of the truck. I knew that I was probably going to be here awhile. Maybe stay overnight," he said. "So I couldn't have her alone and starving in the house."

"It's okay," Cristina said. "Smokey might prove to be a blessing. Bring her in." Owen went out of the townhouse and brought in his black Labrador retriever. Smokey went to Cristina and rested her head on Cristina's lap. She could tell that Cristina was very sad.

"Thank you, Smokey, for trying to comfort me," Cristina said. "You're such a good girl." Smokey looked up at Cristina with sad, chestnut brown eyes.

"Yes, he's gone, Smokey," she said. Smokey looked like she didn't believe it, so she started sniffing around the townhouse, looking for Taz. She looked everywhere and then finally brought Taz's favorite toy – a purple elephant. Taz slept with that stuffed elephant every night, so it had his smell on it. Cristina took the elephant from Smokey and wanted to cry, again.

Owen came to her and took the elephant from her hand. "Cristina, we can't mope, here. We need to do something. Just print out those flyers. We're going to stick them in the compound and on the street. Not just our street but the streets around here. Print them out." Cristina printed out the flyers, as many as she possibly could. She wiped away her tears, as she gathered up all of her flyers.

Together, they left the townhouse, leaving Smokey inside. This time, Cristina made sure the door was properly locked. She didn't want what had happened to Taz to happen to Smokey, too. Together, she and Owen stuck up the flyers everywhere they could find a space. When they came back to the townhouse, Cristina was emotionally exhausted. She collapsed on the sofa, not saying anything.

Owen almost felt at a loss at what to do. Then, he had an idea. "Cristina, I am going to call all of the local shelters and tell them about Taz. If someone brings him in, they can call us."

"Yes," she said, softly. "Please do that."

"Also, sometimes, people bring in injured dogs to the vet, even when it is not theirs. I will also tell all of my veterinarian friends to look out for Taz," he said, excitedly. "Also, Taz has a microchip. Once those shelters and hospitals run the information on that chip on their system, they will know that you are his owner. It's a good thing that we put in that microchip."

She looked up at him, grateful that Owen had insisted on putting in the microchip.

"If you think it could help to call, then sure," she said. "Are you hungry, Owen?" He was but he didn't want her to go to too much trouble.

"Yeah, but you don't have to do anything," he said. "I am fine."

"I was just going to order a pizza for us," she said. "I don't think I have the will to make anything, anyway."

"Yeah, sure," he said. "Order the pizza. I will get on to calling the vet hospitals and the shelters." As Cristina ordered the pizza, Owen worked on calling the hospitals and shelters. By the time the pizza got there, Owen had almost made it through his entire list.

He paid the pizza guy and carried the pizza to the kitchen. Cristina laid out plates on the table, while Smokey watched, interestedly.

"You're hungry, girl?" Cristina asked. Smokey's eyes lit up when she heard the word "hungry." She sat down on her hindquarters and wagged her tail. Cristina got some of Taz's dog food and poured some into his bowl. She poured more than what she would have usually given Taz. After all, Smokey was a bigger dog with a larger appetite. She sat back down and watched Smokey eat. The tears started coming again.

"Oh, Cristina," Owen said, sadly.

"I am just imagining him out there, lost and tired and hungry. He can't find his way home and there's nothing for him to eat. He will be scrounging around in garbage bins, looking for things to eat," Cristina wailed. "He is probably starving and wondering why I don't come and get him."

"Cristina, we've done all we can," he said. "Have a slice." He put a slice of pizza on her plate. She sadly chewed at it.

"After we eat, can we take a drive around the neighborhood in case we see him?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "We will drive around. Maybe, we could go to the park and see if he is there. Now, eat, you need to keep your strength up, so we can go look for Taz."

"Okay," she said. She ate the pizza and washed it down with a huge glass of water. She grabbed a second slice. She didn't know that she was that hungry. Owen was glad that she had an appetite.

After they ate, they drove around the neighborhood, looking for the small French bulldog. They went to the park and checked all of his favorite spots but the pup was nowhere to be found. Cristina came home, feeling dejected.

There was one more thing she could do; she put it out on her Twitter and Facebook accounts that she had lost her dog, posting a picture of Taz and contact information. Maybe that would help, she thought.

Owen and Smokey were going to spend the night with Cristina. Smokey was going to stay in the kitchen. She was too big for Taz's bed so she slept next to his bed, clutching his purple elephant. Cristina and Owen retired for the night. She couldn't sleep, thinking of how cold Taz must be out there. Owen held her close. As a vet and a dog owner, he knew that losing a dog for many pet owners was akin to losing a child. It was hours before Cristina finally fell asleep.

* * *

It was early in the morning when Owen got up, brushed his teeth and got dressed. He went downstairs and made breakfast for Cristina, as she slept. He gently shook her awake, when he was ready to leave.

"I have made you eggs and bacon," he said. "There's hot coffee in the percolator. I have to go now because I have lots of clients coming in today for their appointments. Are you going to work today?" She shook her head.

"I don't think I can work, today. Maybe tomorrow," she said. Owen knew that Cristina was hurting. For someone like Cristina who worked so hard on furthering her career to forego a day of work, that was major.

"Okay," he said. "Do you want me to leave Smokey with you?"

"Yes, please," she responded. "Smokey has been a comfort to me." Owen nodded. He kissed her gently on the lips.

"I will be back once I am done with all of the patients. I will bring some Thai or Chinese food," he said.

"Okay," she said, as she snuggled back under the covers. Before he left, Owen gave Smokey a pat on her head.

"You be good, girl. Don't give Cristina any trouble. If she needs to hug you, just let her do it," he told the black Lab. Smokey was an intuitive dog and seemed to give off the air that she understood everything that Owen said to her. Then, her dad was gone, waving goodbye at her.

Smokey walked up the stairs and found the open bedroom door. She went inside and stared at the young woman with the dark, curly hair. She went and rested her head on the edge of the bed. Cristina opened her eyes and jumped a little, when she saw the dog's head, next to her.

"Smokey, you gave me a fright," she said. "Are you hungry, girl? Do you want me to get up?" Cristina roused herself up from bed, going to the bathroom before heading down to the kitchen. Owen had indeed left breakfast for her. There was food on the stove and hot coffee in the percolator. She poured out some food for Smokey in Taz's bowl and as she watched the dog eat, she had her breakfast.

"So did you have a good night, Smokey?" she asked. The dog looked up and barked, softly. She was using her inside voice.

"Well, I didn't," Cristina told the dog. "I had a rough time. I was so worried about Taz." Smokey yelped at the sound of Taz's name.

"Tell you what, Smokey. After we have had breakfast, you and I are going to take a walk. How about that?" Cristina said. The dog barked, softly again. She was in total agreement.

* * *

After breakfast, Cristina had a quick shower and changed out of her pajamas and into a t-shirt and jeans, so she could walk around the neighborhood. She clipped the leash on to Smokey's collar and together, they headed outside. Smokey seemed to want to go in a different direction but Cristina pulled her to go the other way.

"We're going to the park, Smokey, not stay in the compound," Cristina scolded the dog. Smokey still pulled a little but finally acquiesced to Cristina's wishes and followed her out of the compound, as they walked to the park. There were a lot of dogs at the park. It was an off-leash park, so Cristina released Smokey so she could mingle with the other canines. As Cristina watched Smokey, she thought about Taz, who loved to come to the park to socialize with his friends. It was sad to think about him.

When she was tired of running around, she came back to Cristina, who was sitting on a bench. "So you're ready to go back home?" she asked. The dog barked and allowed Cristina to put the leash back on her collar.

The walk home was pleasant with Smokey dutifully, walking on Cristina's side. It was when they finally reached the townhouse compound that Smokey started acting up. She tugged at the leash, trying to lead Cristina to where she wanted to go. The dog was strong and pulled the tiny woman along.

"Hold on, Smokey," she said. "Not so fast." It really was too fast, as Cristina tripped and fell on the pathway.

"Smokey!" she screamed, angrily. "Stop that." She got up from the ground and wiped the dirt off her pants. "My clothes are all dirty, now. Why are you behaving like this?"

She tried to lead Smokey to her townhouse but the dog was insistent. "Okay, let's see what you want to show me," Cristina said. "I hope it is not some cat or rabbit that you want to chase. That is not going to happen." She allowed the dog to take the lead and followed her.

Smokey finally stopped in front of a townhouse. The dog let out a howl. "Why did you stop here?" Cristina asked.

It was Townhouse 11. Cristina knew exactly who lived there.

* * *

**A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate them. Thanks very much.**


	13. Chapter 13 Where was Taz?

The day that Taz disappeared, it was partly his own fault. After eating his breakfast, he strolled to the living room and noticed that the front door was open. An open door in Taz's books was an invitation to go through.

The light of the day was bright but he could see that there was a woman, standing on the walkway near his house. She was tall – taller than his mom. She looked upset and her mouth was open. She was staring at something. Taz was curious. What was it that the woman was staring at? He walked towards her and stood next to her, watching in the same direction as she was. All he could see was his mom's car driving away.

Finally, as the car disappeared out of the compound, the woman turned and started walking away. She had not noticed Taz's presence next to her. He started following her, wondering where she was going. She seemed to be very down. Taz was attuned to people's mood changes. He wondered if he could offer her some comfort. After all, his mommy had always said that he was good at that. He followed her on the other side of the compound to Townhouse 11.

As she walked up to her townhouse and opened her door, Taz felt it was time to let his presence be known. He barked, sharply. Veronica turned around and noticed the pup behind her.

"Hey," she said. "Where did you come from?" She looked around and said loudly, "Is anyone missing their dog?" There was no answer, so Veronica shrugged.

"Well, I guess I will just have to let you inside and check your tags," she said. She allowed Taz to pass her and she let him into her townhouse. They went to her kitchen, where she asked him if he was hungry. Taz barked, eagerly. He had just eaten but he was not going to refuse any tidbit. Veronica dug into her fridge and pulled out a half-eaten rotisserie chicken. She tore off a piece of meat and gave it to him. Taz eagerly wolfed that down.

She picked him up and checked his tags. "Ah, your name is Taz and your owner is Cristina Yang from Townhouse 26." She stopped and put him down. She was in a little bit of shock. This was Cristina's dog. Cristina – Owen's new girlfriend – was the owner of this dog. She remembered a couple of weeks ago, when she had seen Owen with the woman, putting up flyers about a lost dog. This was the dog. The owner had probably not shown up and Cristina had kept the dog.

In that instant when she thought about Cristina, all Veronica could feel was the hurt. She had been greatly hurt when Owen had broken up with her. He had told her that they were not a good fit, together and that they should end the relationship. She had been taken by surprise. She thought things were going well between the two of them. Sure, they had their arguments but all couples argued. She didn't know that Owen had taken it to heart that their arguments meant that they would not work out. She had cried for days when he walked out of her life.

Then, she had seen him with the woman from Townhouse 26, putting up those flyers. She had found that he was acting rather cozy with the woman, who was a tiny little thing. She should have known then that he was interested in the woman. Why else would he be there on a Sunday morning, helping one of his clients put up flyers for a lost dog? That was going beyond the service of being a good veterinarian.

She stared at Taz, who was looking up at her with his soulful eyes. "You are a cute little fella, aren't you boy?" Taz took that as a cue to do one of his most appealing tricks. He jumped up on his back feet and did a few steps backward. He knew that always brought a smile to his mom's face. Veronica laughed. It was so cute, she thought.

Then, she made a decision. She was going to keep the dog for a bit. She wanted them to suffer and feel the pain and hurt that she had been feeling in the months, since Owen had broken up with her. She knew it was wrong but she couldn't stop herself. "You're going to stay with me for a bit, boy. I hope you don't mind," she told the dog. Taz was puzzled. Stay? He thought he was just trying to cheer this lady up. He barked. He wanted to go home, he said. He hoped the woman would understand.

Though the woman fed him, all Taz wanted to do was go home. That first night, he slept on a mat but he knew he was in strange surroundings. He really couldn't sleep plus he didn't have a doggie door where he could go out in the backyard and relieve himself. He cried all night because he missed his home and his bed. But most of all, he missed his mom. His sweet, loving mom, who would take her in her arms and cuddle him.

He had made a puddle in the kitchen and the woman had scolded him. He thought she should be relieved that he did not a do a number two on her kitchen floor. She had let him out in her backyard where he ran around for a bit and did his toilet. The woman muttered that taking care of a dog was more trouble than it was worth. She gave him his breakfast, but did so grudgingly. She gave him a teddy bear to play with but he was so angry and wanted to go home that he ripped it to shreds, which led to more scolding and angry words.

It went on like that for most of the day. He cried for his mom and then fell asleep on the mat in the kitchen. He was so tired since he had not slept all night. He was still asleep when there was a knock on the front door. If only Taz had been awake, he would have known that his mom was at the front door.

Cristina knocked twice on the front door. Veronica stared out through her peep hole and saw that it was Cristina. "Damn," Veronica thought. She had to get rid of Cristina, fast. She opened the door to talk to Cristina but quickly closed it behind her.

"Oh, hey Cristina," she said. "What brings you my way?" She noticed that Smokey was with Cristina. "And you brought Smokey with you." She bent down and patted the black Lab's head. Smokey barked, sharply. She wanted to say something. Why didn't anybody understand what she was saying? She knew why she wanted to go to Veronica's townhouse. Taz was there because she could smell his scent.

"Um, yeah," Cristina said. "Smokey kept dragging me in this direction. I guess she wanted to say hello."

"Well, Smokey and I were great pals, when Owen and I were dating," Veronica said. "I am glad that she didn't forget me."

"Yeah, we better get back to my townhouse," Cristina said. "Oh, by the way, my dog, Taz is missing. I forgot my door open yesterday and it seems he may have walked out. Owen and I have been looking for him but so far, nothing. Could you please keep a lookout for him? He is a small French bulldog pup. I put up flyers around the compound, so you can see what he looks like."

"I will keep an eye open," Veronica said. She wondered if Cristina could see it in her face that she was lying.

"Okay, thanks," Cristina said. "I really miss him, so. I couldn't sleep very well, last night, thinking that he might out there, all alone, cold and hungry."

"I am sure he will turn up, soon," Veronica said. "Okay, good to see you." She gave Smokey another pat on the head and closed the door. As she closed the door, she ran to the kitchen and looked at the small pup, sleeping on the mat. She felt so guilty, now. She greatly suspected that Smokey had figured out that Taz was at her house. She and Smokey had not been really friends, while she and Owen were dating, so there was no way that the dog would have been that eager to visit her. She knew she had to carry back the pup to his rightful owner.

* * *

Cristina was puzzled as she left Veronica's townhouse. Did Smokey really just want to go over there for a visit? She walked back to her townhouse. Smokey seemed very anxious to go back and tugged at her leash, a couple of times. Cristina was firm and held a tight leash, as she guided the Lab back to her townhouse. There was no way she was going back to Veronica's townhouse.

She got back to her townhouse and the first thing she did was check the messages on the phone. There were a couple of calls that were work-related but she really couldn't deal with that right now, especially in the state that she was in. Unfortunately, there were no messages about Taz. She let out a long and mournful sigh.

She called Owen and asked the receptionist for him to give her a call, between clients. She didn't have to wait five minutes before he returned her call.

"Hey, Cristina. Anything as yet?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, no," she said. "Anything from your end?"

"No but I did alert all of the local veterinary hospitals and shelters to be on the lookout for him. He is bound to show up, there," Owen said. "In the meantime, I know you're hurting. I was thinking that maybe, Smokey and I can stay with you, for a while. So is it okay if I bring across maybe a week's worth of clothing?"

"Yes, Owen. I really would appreciate that. Having you and Smokey here has been a real comfort," she said.

"Can I get a drawer?" he asked, softly. She laughed. It was really the first time she had a genuine laugh since Taz had gone missing.

"Yes, Owen, you can have a drawer," she said. He laughed on the other end.

"I think I will finish up earlier than I thought," he said. "So I should be there soon, bearing food."

"Good," she said. They both bade each other goodbye. She went to the kitchen and gave Smokey a bowl of water. Smokey was so thirsty that she almost drank out the entire bowl. The dog sat down and looked at her. She seemed dissatisfied.

"Smokey, why are you giving me that look?" she said. "I wish we had some kind of dog interpretation device like in that movie, UP, so I would know what you are trying to tell me. Come to think of it, anybody, who can invent such a device, would become a multi-millionaire."

She got up and left Smokey in the kitchen and headed to her bedroom. She cleared out the top drawer from the chest and left it bare for Owen's clothes. She repacked her clothes into other drawers. She lay on the bed until she fell asleep. That was how Owen found her, when he got to the townhouse, later on in the evening. He shook her awake and told her that he brought dinner.

They had a quiet dinner and then, watched a movie but if you asked either of them, they wouldn't have been able to even say what the movie was about. They turned in early and it was still a restless night. Owen could hear Cristina sob for a bit. His heart was breaking for her. Eventually, they both fell asleep.

It was early in the morning, when he heard the doorbell. He looked at the time. It was really early – about 5.55 a.m. He looked at Cristina, who was still asleep. Who could be at the door at this hour? He pulled on a t-shirt and quietly, went downstairs. He opened the door and saw no one. It was still quite dark. He then heard a small bark. He looked down to see Taz on the doorstep.

"Taz!" he said. "You're back!"

* * *

**A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate when you take the time to do so.**


	14. Chapter 14 Taz is Back

"Taz!" Owen said, again as he scooped up the pup in his arms. "Where have you been, boy?" Taz yelped. He was more than happy to be home, especially in the arms of someone familiar. He liked his vet but he really wanted to see his mom. After all, she was the love of his life.

Owen ran up the stairs with the pup in his arms. "Your mom is going to be so happy to see you, boy." He opened the bedroom door and went and sat on Cristina's side of the bed. He gently shook her awake. She opened her eyes; it took a little while to focus but there was no mistaking the soft licks from the dog on her face.

"Taz!" she screamed, jumping up on her bed. "You're back!" She took the dog from Owen and held her close to her chest. The dog licked his mom's face. "Where have you been, boy?" She put the dog up in front of her and stared at his face. "You look alright. Doesn't he look alright, Owen?"

"Yes," Owen agreed. "He looks fine but we could give him a brief exam, if you want."

"It looks like someone has been taking care of him," Cristina said. "He doesn't look worse for wear. He is clean and he looks like he has been fed in the days that he has gone missing."

"Yes," Owen said. "I am pretty sure that someone had taken care of him. How do you think that we got him back? Someone rang the bell and I went down to answer the door. I couldn't believe someone could be at the door at this hour. When I opened the front door, I thought there was no one there. Then, he barked and I looked down and there he was. So, we know that Taz cannot reach the doorbell, therefore someone had to ring it for him and then, left him there."

"I wish the person had stayed, so maybe I could give them a reward," Cristina said. "They probably saw the flyers and brought him back."

"Maybe," Owen responded, but in reality, he wasn't so sure. He didn't want Cristina to think that anyone might have deliberately kept the pup for two days but it was a possibility that could not be ruled out.

"Are you hungry, Taz?" Cristina said. "Let's go downstairs and get you something to eat. We have a surprise for you, too. Smokey is here. You two could play in the backyard." She got up and headed down the stairs. Owen followed her to the kitchen, where Smokey was. Cristina put Taz next to Smokey and he immediately jumped on the bigger dog to wake her up. Smokey got up with a start but then realized that her smaller friend was back. She gave him a lick on the face. Cristina let the two of them go out in the small backyard with a ball.

"Let them get re-acquainted," she said, as she found their bowls and poured some food for them. "I wonder if Taz is telling Smokey about his adventures away from home."

Indeed, he was. Taz was telling Smokey about what had happened – how he had followed the tall lady home and she had kept him there for two days. He said he wanted to come home to see his mom but he couldn't leave. Smokey told him that she was sure that he was at that lady's house. She told Taz that she had taken his mom there but she didn't understand. She said that she could smell that he was there. Smokey said she was sorry that they couldn't find him sooner. Taz told her that he was just glad that the lady brought him back home. As Cristina opened the door to call them for their breakfast, she noted that they seemed to be having a very intense conversation with each other. It made her smile.

Cristina called the two of them back inside and side by side, the dogs ate their breakfast. Owen had already started preparing pancakes for Cristina and himself.

"I guess now that Taz is back, Smokey and I will be heading home," he said. "I know us staying here was not under the best of circumstances."

"Maybe not," she answered. "But I am forever grateful for your comfort in my time of need. For that, I thank you and Smokey very much." She went and hugged him from behind, wrapping her arms around him, as he poured out the pancake batter.

"As much as I love you hugging me," he said. "I think you should have a seat as I have to flip these pancakes." She released him and got back into her seat, putting up her legs and hugging them. He looked at her and smiled. She looked so much like a little girl, when she did that.

"By the way, even though Smokey and I are going back to my house, can I keep my drawer here? I brought those clothes across yesterday and now, I am heading back home," he said, with a sly grin.

She laughed. "Of course, you can keep your drawer," she said. "You and Smokey are always welcome to visit. Taz and I will always be happy to see you."

"I think after breakfast, Smokey and I are going to head back home. Are you going to work today?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "I am going to work. A little later than I usually do but I just want to play with Taz a bit."

Owen placed a plate of pancakes in front of her and poured some syrup on it. He also placed a cup of coffee next to it.

"You are so good to me," she said. "What did I do to deserve you?" He bent down and kissed her on the forehead.

"I do it because I care about you," he said, softly. He sat down and they both had their breakfast in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence; it was just two people enjoying each other's company.

After breakfast, Cristina and Owen went back upstairs, brushed their teeth and changed their clothes. She told him that he could just put his dirty clothes in her laundry basket. He liked that. It was a simple moment but marked them as a couple. He threw them in, kissed her goodbye and he and Smokey were on their way.

Cristina and Taz spent some quality time together, before she headed out to work. She promised him that she would bring him a treat and they could go for a walk to the park, when she came back after work. Before she left, she made sure that her door was properly locked. Taz, for his part, was so happy to be home. He checked every corner of his house before he settled down into his bed for a kitchen. There was never a more contented French bulldog than Taz Yang.

* * *

When Cristina came home that afternoon, she had indeed brought some baked goodies for Taz. She had stopped at the doggy bakery and bought him some treats. He was waiting at the door, as he used to do. Cristina cried tears of joy when she saw him, waiting there. It was just like before. She stopped to give him a cuddle before they went to the kitchen, where she shared her bought treats with him. She went upstairs, took a shower and changed her clothes into something comfortable. She put the leash on his collar and together, they walked to the dog park. When she let him off his leash to play with his friends, she sat on a bench and watched his every move. It was as if she was afraid that he might disappear into thin air, again.

When he was tired, Taz came back to her and she put the leash back on him and then walked back to the townhouse complex. It was when she was entering the gate, Veronica, Owen's ex was taking a power walk. She was about to say hello to Veronica, when Taz started to misbehave. He growled at Veronica, showing all of his teeth. He rushed forward, growling all of the time.

"What is wrong with you, Taz?" Cristina said. She had never seen her dog behave that way. She apologized profusely to Veronica.

"I am so sorry about Taz. I don't know why he is behaving this way," she said. "Come on, Taz, let's go. You are embarrassing me here."

Veronica answered that it was alright and maybe, the pup did not like strangers. Cristina dragged her pup away but he was still looking back at Veronica and growling. When she went back to the townhouse, the first thing she did was to call Owen.

"I think that Taz has to go to obedience training," Cristina said. "He just shamed me out there in public. I was wondering if you knew any good training programs," Owen laughed.

"What did he do?" he said. He could barely imagine what that sweet little pup could do that could shame Cristina.

"Your old girlfriend, Veronica – we met her outside and he growled and growled at her," Cristina. "He showed her all of his teeth and even when we're walking away, he kept tugging at the leash and growling."

The behavior raised an alarm in Owen. He knew that Taz never behaved like this. Taz had been exposed to many strangers at the clinic and not once had he ever reacted that way. It got him thinking.

"Cristina, there are two training programs I can recommend," he said. "I will bring over their brochures, when I come to see you, tonight."

"So you're coming over?" she asked. "Then I better order us some dinner. What do you feel for tonight?"

"Maybe some Thai," he said. "I have a hankering for Thai since lunchtime. I will be over after I give Smokey her dinner. See you soon."

"Okay, see you," she said. She ordered the food and stared at her dog, wondering what had gotten into the little fella. Usually, Taz was a very social dog, always willing to please people. That reaction to Veronica was most uncharacteristic of Taz.

* * *

Owen had finished his clinical hours and went back to his house. He took a shower, changed into a jeans and a polo shirt and then fed Smokey. As he sat watching Smokey have her dinner, he thought about Taz and his aggressive reaction to Veronica. He had his suspicions about Veronica and whether she had anything to do with Taz's disappearance. He gave Smokey a pat on the head before he left the house.

As he drove over to the townhouse complex, he had been rolling it over in his mind. He decided that he was going to confront Veronica. He knew that things had not ended well with Veronica and she had been very upset, when he decided to call quits on the relationship. Still, he found it hard to believe that she would be so callous as to take Taz. He remembered Veronica's face on that Sunday, when she saw him and Cristina drive away. She had been in a state of shock. He had felt terrible but he had moved on and she needed to do the same.

He deliberately drove past Cristina's townhouse and parked in front of Townhouse 11. He was going to see Veronica, first. The lights were on, as he could see through the living room window. He knocked on the door. There was no answer, at first. So, he knocked again. He wondered if Veronica was peering at him through her peephole. He was not going to go away, he thought. He was determined to have this out with her. So, he knocked a third time.

The door slowly opened to reveal only Veronica's head. "Owen," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I have something I need to discuss with you," he said. "May I come in?"

Veronica hesitated for a bit. Then, she opened the door fully to let Owen in. He walked into the townhouse past her.

* * *

**A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate them. **


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